The Amazing Adventures of Teddy Remus Lupin
by Da Jazzman
Summary: The extraordinary adventures of Nymphadora Tonks and Remus Lupin’s son and godson of the famous Harry Potter during his seven year journey through the Howarts School of Magic. Adventure, Humor and Romance.
1. The Little God Sun

**The Amazing Adventures of Teddy Remus Lupin **

The extraordinary adventures of Nymphadora Tonks and Remus Lupin's son and godson of the famous Harry Potter during his seven year journey through the Howarts School of Magic. Adventure, Humor and Romance.

Disclaimer: All HP characters belong to JK Rowling.

**Chapter One: The Little God Sun**

--

Harry had only seen a single photograph of his godson, yet it had given him a wealth of information. His godson, a tiny mite with a tuft of turquoise hair, lay smiling up at the camera, waving his little fists in the air. He was cute; had his father, Remus' eyes and nose and his mother, Nymphadora's heart-shaped face, and engaging smile.

The hair gave it away; he was a metamorphmagus, able to change his features and hair color at will. It was Mr. Weasley who had informed Harry that metamorphmagi often evidenced these changes in reaction to their feelings as well.

The first time Harry saw his godson in person was at the funeral of the child's parents a week following their valiant death's during the Battle of Hogwarts. Harry had attended fifteen funerals as a result of that battle before that day and in truth, his emotional state was rather fragile by the time he stepped onto the grassy knoll of the cemetery where Remus and Tonks (Nymphadora's nickname) were to be buried.

Harry had contemplated his role as godfather a few times prior to setting eyes on his godson; but not in any real depth. He'd been allotted the honor during the war and there had simply been too much going on around him to really consider it fully at that time. In the aftermath of vanquishing Voldemort, he'd spent most of his time consoling those with losses and facing his own, and he'd barely given the matter any thought at all.

The day prior to the funeral he had attended the funeral of Fred Weasley. That event had left him completely drained, his emotions heightened and oddly enough, full of rage. He'd spent the evening with Ron, Hermione and Ginny, uncharacteristically drinking fire whiskey to dull the pain and temper his anger. The next morning he awoke feeling tired, a little hung-over and most of his anger had been swallowed up by a sense of sadness and loss.

It was natural of course; he had attended the funeral for Colin Creevey the day before and numerous others prior to that. Each had wrenched emotions from his soul and left him feeling raw and somewhat broken, despite his grand battle successes.

When he arrived with the Weasley family at the funeral for Lupin and Tonks, he wasn't surprised to see that hundreds had gathered to show their respects. Hundreds of wizards had gathered at every funeral he'd attended, whether they knew the individual who'd died or not.

Still, he couldn't help but feel some happiness at the sight; Remus had always bemoaned the fact that wizards saw him as a monster due to his being a werewolf and treated him as an outcast during his lifetime. As a result, he felt his wife had become an outcast in the eyes of the wizard world as well. While Remus had finally come to terms with the issue on a personal level, Harry knew that the fear that his family would ever be shunned by society had lingered in the back of his mind. Thus, he would have likely been surprised at the number of people who had come to see him and his wife off into the wizard after-life.

Many present had a real respect for Remus and Tonks; members of the Order, those who had come into contact or fought along side the couple, students who had trained under Remus in defense of the dark arts classes at Hogwarts and others who simply did not believe in bearing prejudice. However, other wizards, who would have likely shunned the family if the parents had lived, were also present. The majority of wizard society was ready to set aside their prejudices when it came to paying respects to all of those who had stood with them against the dark lord.

Harry arrived with Ginny's hand firmly held in his own and moved to stand beside Andromeda Tonks, Nymphadora's mother, at the edge of the graves. That was the first time he glimpsed his godson. The sight sent the first wave of unmitigated cheer through his heart that he'd felt since the moment Voldemort had fallen. The little tike was shifting and grabbing at his grandmother's robes, a smile on his face and his eyes bright. His hair actually changed from blonde to a deep green while Harry was watching him and the sight resulted in the first unencumbered smile upon Harry's face since the end of the war. He reminded Harry of both Remus and Tonks and brought to mind the last time he'd seen Remus; called back from the afterworld to encourage him just before he faced Voldemort. Remus had looked younger, happier and healthier than he'd ever seen him in life and the thought that he and Tonks were united with Sirius and his parents in the afterworld - likely having a ball - cheered him and kept a glowing warm ball of joy in his heart.

The service was of medium length and Harry volunteered together with a few others to say a few words when the wizard conducting the service asked if anyone wished to speak. He spoke of his love for Remus and Tonks, told of their valor, counsel and friendship and ended proclaiming that they had left him the great gift and honor of being their son's godfather.

Harry spoke from the heart and had no idea that his words would forever change little Teddy Remus Lupin's future. Society would have very likely been prejudiced and shunned the child based on the fact that his father had been a werewolf, despite the fact that Teddy himself was free of lycanthropy and merely a metamorphmagus which was accepted and even looked upon with some awe by society. However, as the godson of the universally famous and highly revered Harry Potter, the child inherited their highest esteem.

After the service, Harry turned to Andromeda, 'may I hold him?' he asked her hesitantly.

Andromeda, distraught and teary eyed smiled, 'of course,' she said hoarsely.

Harry cradled the little one in his arms and Teddy at once began to make small mewing sounds; his hair moving from green to deep blue in the process. Harry chuckled down at the infant and in that moment, the little one wrung a deep attachment from the Gryffindor. He determined that he would be the godfather that Sirius Black had wanted to be for him, but never could fully be due to circumstance.

'You are in reality the only other family the little one has,' Andromeda said softly at his side.

Harry hugged the child a little closer to his chest, 'I will always be there for him,' Harry said determinedly. He understood that while little Teddy did actually have other relatives along the Black family line, none of them would actually acknowledge the child.

Andromeda smiled again, 'it will be nice for him to have a male presence in his life. You are likely to be a very busy young man from here on out, but I am certain that even a little time spent in your presence will mean a lot for him, Harry.'

Harry looked up quickly and met Andromeda's eyes, 'Remus and Tonks asked me to be his godfather and I have no intention of being so in name only. Teddy is going to be seeing more of me than he'll likely be able to stomach!' he said almost angrily, his eyes flashing.

Andromeda started a little at the heat in Harry's tone.

Harry calmed at once, 'that is…if you will allow it,' he added chastened. His mind had been full of his own parents; taken from him when he was but one years old and how Teddy had found himself in the same situation.

Andromeda's face changed to one of gratitude and tearful emotion, 'allow it? Of course Harry. You are his godfather, you must see him as often as you like. My home is your home.'

Harry smiled again and watched as Ginny, still at his side, reached in to tickle Teddy's stomach. Teddy's mouth opened with merriment and in that moment a picture was snapped by a Daily Prophet reporter. Harry immediately demanded a copy and it would be the first post battle photo to grace the shelf in his room at the Burrows where he was staying.

To Andromeda's surprise, Harry kept his word and was a frequent visitor to her home. He came with Ginny and sometimes with Ron and Hermione and would spend anywhere from an hour to several hours playing with Teddy and bringing him small gifts.

Some years later when Harry married Ginny, his five year old godson proudly marched up the isle holding the couple's wedding rings, his hair white-blond for the occasion. The moment Teddy reached the alter with the rings, Harry and Ginny had looked at the youngster with such fondness, Teddy's emotions caused his hair to transform to a bright orange. The crowd began laughing and the moment was one of the high points of the ceremony for the couple.

Harry and Ginny continued their regular visits after their marriage and began carrying the lad off to their new flat for days at a time. Harry told story after story to little Teddy about his father and mother, almost glorifying Remus Lupin's lycanthropy in the tales so that Teddy would be immune to holding any prejudice for werewolves and others who exhibited non-human wizard characteristics.

Harry's deepest desire was that Teddy be proud of his parents and of the sacrifice he had made for his son; he didn't want the child to feel the least bit of shame about his father being a werewolf. Although he would not know it for sometime, Harry's efforts were quite effective.

Harry and Ginny began having their own children, James, two years later and Albus, a year after that and from that point, Teddy had begun asking to stay with them more frequently. He loved playing with his new little god-siblings. He traveled to his godfather's home so often, he became like another member of the family and wizard society became quite used to seeing the Lupin child amongst Harry's family when they went out and about in the wizard world.

When Teddy turned eleven, he received his letter to Hogwarts School of Magic and Harry went with his family to Andromeda's home to celebrate. Ginny had just found out she was pregnant again, so they invited Ron and Hermione and their two children along for a massive celebration of all the good news.

Harry had taken Teddy aside at the party to talk about his upcoming sojourn at Hogwarts. Teddy seemed to be well on his way to fulfilling his father's dream of being a 'great wizard in the making'. The child had performed a tremendous amount of incidental magic as a youngster and Harry, quite against Ministry standards, had even taught teddy a few harmless spells during the last year.

Harry had been amazed at how quickly the lad had performed the basic spells, although upon reflection it made sense. His father had been quite talented and very quick with his wand and his mother had been an Auror which spoke greatly of her aptitude at magic.

Harry had also been unable to resist teaching Teddy all about flying, albeit on a toy broom. The broom didn't get much in the way of height, but they managed to play miniature Quidditch games nonetheless and Teddy had shown great aptitude for the sport.

Harry saw great things ahead for Teddy, but he was wise enough to realize that Teddy's aptitude for magic could land him in a heap of trouble at Hogwarts if the child didn't take care. While Teddy had a great heart and good values instilled in him by his grandmother and godfather, he had inherited his father and mother's mischievous nature.

Harry wanted the child to have a good time; but he warned him against being a bully or using his gifts in an ill advised way. He drilled those ideals into little Teddy's mind again during their chat at the celebration and continued to do so right through the day he took Teddy to purchase his first year supplies in Hogsmeade. Harry was quite certain that even after having doled out truck-loads of advice, he still had a budding Marauder on his hands.

On the day before Teddy was to leave for Hogwarts, Andromeda fire-called Harry and advised him she had hurt her leg and would be unable to accompany them the next day to Kings Cross to see Teddy off to Hogwarts. So Teddy spent that evening at his godfather's home and a quite pregnant Ginny, Harry, James and Albus set out with Teddy the next morning to platform 9 and three-quarters to see him off for the start of what would become the extraordinary adventures of one Teddy Remus Lupin at the Hogwarts School of Magic.

Harry was standing with his family pressing Teddy's thick, waving hair down about his head. The waves ended in curls that had a decided tendency to escape the perfections of grooming. Harry knew all about untidy locks and smiled as Teddy looked up at him wryly; Teddy knew Harry's attempts at controlling his hair were futile. His hair's natural color was ginger with natural light highlights, but that changed often enough with his emotions. His large light brown eyes and cute heart-shaped face gave promise of his being quite popular among the girls in the future.

Ginny suddenly nudged Harry and discretely pointed to where a group of four family members stood together. Harry's eyes widened in surprise when he saw that Lucius, Narcissa and Draco Malfoy stood apparently seeing off a handsome youngster with jet black hair. The child looked so different in coloring to the family, Harry wondered who he might be.

The entire family seemed to note his regard and turned to look at Harry. They all three nodded rather curtly before promptly ignoring him again, but the small child with them who had also looked over, continued looking and smiled.

Harry returned the child's smile and then turned with raised eyebrows to Ginny, 'wonder who the child is,' he mused.

'No idea,' responded Ginny, her brows creased.

However they didn't have time to speculate. Between keeping track of their youngsters James and Albus, four and three years old respectively, and speaking with Teddy, their attention was immediately distracted from contemplating the child with the Malfoys.

Too soon it was nearly eleven and Harry was assisting Teddy to load his trunk onto the Hogwarts Express. Many people were regarding the famous Harry Potter seeing his godson off that morning, but neither Harry nor Teddy paid it much mind; they were quite used to the avid attention that followed them wherever they went.

The family gathered at the window where Teddy appeared after having placed his trunk in one of the compartments and Harry and Ginny leaned up for a final kiss.

'Be good and have a lot of fun,' Harry said brightly, his eyes misting a little despite himself.

'We'll send you letters and lots of good treats from home,' Ginny promised, 'and we expect to hear from you very often, Teddy.'

Teddy smiled and promised to write, his eyes sparkling with excitement and to Harry's slight discomfort, a little mischief too.

'Maybe I will be a Gryffindor like everyone in my family,' Teddy said. In his mind, that included Harry, Ginny and all the Weasleys as well as his parents.

'Oh inevitably,' Ginny responded laughing.

'You never know,' Harry said, again noting that mischievous gleam in Teddy's eye.

Teddy furrowed his brow, 'well just so I am not a Hufflepuff,' he said sourly.

'Teddy!' Harry admonished. Teddy had laughed merrily at the name 'Hufflepuff' when Harry had explained the various houses to him. The eleven year old had declared that he would be embarrassed to be in a house with such a silly name.

Harry had at once reproached him and tried to instill a little respect for the house in his godson's mind, but it hadn't worked. He spoke of the bravery of its members, but in the end, he'd been less than convincing in his attempts.

The family stood waving as the train started to pull out of the station, Ginny leaning up to get in one last kiss and Harry noticed that Draco Malfoy stood next to her, reaching up to ruffle the hair of the dark-haired lad that had stood with the family earlier.

Many of the families stood until the train turned the curve and was out of sight before turning to leave the station. At that point Draco Malfoy's family was moving directly in front of the Potters and curiosity got the better of Harry.

Harry stepped quickly forward and tapped his old arch-enemy on the shoulder.

Draco turned around, startled at the touch and his grey eyes met Harry's emerald green orbs. He lifted his brows in question.

'Hello,' Harry said, at once feeling the strain that had always been a part of their relationship, once again rising between them.

'Hi,' Draco said coolly.

'Who was the small lad you were seeing off?' Harry asked.

Draco's expression was easily readable; _none of your business you nosy git._ But maturity seemed to prevent him from responding as he might have at a younger age. 'That is my younger brother,' Draco said smoothly.

'Your – your brother?' Harry said with some confusion in his tone.

'My mother was pregnant during the war; a surprise to us all,' Draco declared curtly.

'Oh – oh I see,' Harry sputtered, 'well – um – congratulations,' he finished awkwardly.

Draco's expression was wry and Harry realized that his congratulations were perhaps a little strange coming eleven years late and all.

Draco nodded and turned away to catch up with his parents who were already passing through the barrier and back into the train station.

Harry turned to Ginny as they too began moving toward the barrier, 'that dark haired boy we saw with them is the son of Lucius and Narcissa,' he said with a bit of amazement.

'I heard,' Ginny responded, her tone equally surprised, 'it is hard to imagine; they are all so pale and blond.'

Harry shrugged, 'must be the Black family background in Narcissa's bloodline coming through,' he commented.

Ginny nodded, 'let's just hope the lad is more like Sirius and less like Bellatrix.'

Harry nodded in agreement.

Harry and Ginny may have made that wish a little more fervently if they had known that Teddy and the dark haired lad who had been standing on the train next to one another at the windows had turned toward each other when they'd lost sight of their families.

The reason they had turned to one another was because a small explosion suddenly went off on the ground between them as their families faces had slid from view.

Both boys had jumped backwards at the sound and smoke began filling the air around them. They both grimaced at the awful smell that started arising from the mist.

'Gods,' the dark haired boy said, squeezing his nose and looking disgusted.

'What was that? asked Teddy scrunching up his own nose.

'That,' said an older boy that seemed to appear from no where, 'was how we welcome first year brats to Hogwarts!' he smirked at the lads.

Teddy scowled, but the dark haired boy narrowed his eyes in anger and immediately pulled out his wand. He uttered a spell and light zipped from his wand tip and struck the older student in the middle of his chest. The student went flying backward with great speed, his back hitting the wall of the passageway behind.

Teddy broke out in laughter at the sight and the dark haired boy turned his angry eyes on young Lupin. However, seconds later the anger lifted from his face and he too began laughing, watching as the older boy slowly arose from the ground where he'd slid after the curse, rubbing his head.

'You think that was funny,' the older boy said nastily, 'the two of you will regret ever stepping foot on this train,' he said, his hand reaching for his own wand.

'What's going on here?'

All three turned to see a tall lad coming rapidly toward them, his face set with determination.

The older boy who had set off the dungbomb looked from the newcomer to the two lads again with hatred in his eyes before storming angrily away, his expression bidding awful things in the future for the two young lads.

The newcomer smiled kindly at the two lads, 'everything all right?'

Teddy and the dark haired boy nodded.

'Good, best get to your compartments and settle in,' he said as he continued on his way down the passage.

Teddy looked at the dark haired boy and they grinned at one another.

'Teddy Remus Lupin,' Teddy said, holding out his hand.

The dark haired boy grasped his hand and shook it, 'Dorado Fornax Malfoy,' he replied.

'Dorado? I haven't heard that before, Teddy commented.

'My family always names their children after constellations,' Dorado said a bit arrogantly.

'Um,' Teddy mused, not at all put off by the arrogant tone, 'Dorado; my mum's name was Nymphadora and some people called her Dora for short. Kind of like your name in a way.'

'Well don't get any ideas about calling me Dora,' Dorado said smartly, 'and anyway I already knew that. Your mother was my mum's niece.'

Teddy regarded the other boy with shock sparking from his eyes, 'she was?'

Dorado nodded, 'my mum has a family tree and I saw your mother's name on it. It had your dad's name and yours on there as well; they automatically appear when family members marry and have kids. The names were scratched up a bit though; they all didn't get on so well.'

Teddy's eyes lit up suddenly, 'you are related to the Black family then?'

'My mum was a Black,' Dorado responded, with that same hint of arrogance he'd used before.

'My godfather told me about my mum's family, Teddy said, 'half of the family didn't get along so well with the other half; I guess that is why you and I never met.'

'Exactly,' Dorado said grinning, 'but I knew who you were anyway because everyone knows you are the famous Harry Potter's godson.' A little bit of spite had entered his tone.

Teddy nodded. Even though he knew his godfather was famous and the hero of a war that took place long ago, he never personally thought of Harry as a celebrated figure. For him, Harry was just his godfather who loved him as much as he loved him back. But he hadn't missed the slightly offensive tone of the other boy.

Harry had warned him that some of the kids might be a little jealous of the fact that his godfather was the war hero and exhibit it with rudeness. Teddy hadn't really understood why people might feel that way, but he was a bit daunted to hear the offensive tone coming from Dorado in relation to his godfather.

He'd immediately determined that Dorado would make a great friend when the lad had whipped out his wand in their defense. The act had seemed beyond cool to him and he was certain they could have a great time together at Hogwarts.

'Have you already got a compartment?' Teddy asked, not ready to give up hope on his prospective friend.

'Yup,' responded Dorado, signaling one close to where they were standing.

'Oh, I'm in the next one over,' Teddy said.

Dorado nodded and turned to move to his compartment, 'well, see ya,' he said over his shoulder.

'See ya,' Teddy responded feeling a little bit dismayed. He'd hoped that he and Dorado might have become friendly on the trip. He moved to his own compartment in which an older girl and boy sat talking to one another and sat across from them on the bench.

The two of them seemed to be quite good friends and they ignored Teddy completely. Teddy sighed and scooted toward the window to look out on the passing scenery, wondering what Hogwarts would be like.

When the door to their compartment opened again, Teddy swung around to see who might be coming in and a grin spread across his features.

'A bunch of loud-mouthed idiots in my compartment,' commented Dorado, 'figured I'd come here,' he said as he attempted to hoist the trunk he was dragging up onto the overhead rack.

Teddy stood up on the bench and helped Dorado push the trunk onto the rack, it was a bit high and somewhat of a struggle for most first years to reach. The lads were both tall for first years, about the same height, but it was still a little difficult for them.

'Well I'm glad you came,' Teddy said, shoving at the trunk, 'it is going to be a long trip and this compartment is all but empty.' Teddy shoved a thumb over his shoulder indicating the couple behind them who had commenced a light snogging session.

Dorado rolled his eyes, 'I see that.'

The two sat on the bench where they had been standing and Teddy's light brown eyes locked with Dorado's grey orbs. 'I can't wait to get to Hogwarts, I have a feeling this is going to be great fun.'

Dorado nodded, 'and if it isn't, I'm going to make it so.'

Teddy's grin reappeared, 'I'll help,' he promised.

The two settled back against the bench chuckling, marking the beginning of what would become one of the most notorious friendships in the history of Hogwarts.


	2. George's Secret

**The Amazing Adventures of Teddy Remus Lupin **

Deathly Hallows Spoilers - post battle. The extraordinary adventures of Nymphadora Tonks and Remus Lupin's son and godson of the famous Harry Potter during his seven year journey through the Hogwarts School of Magic. Adventure, Humor and Romance.

Disclaimer: All HP characters, situations and entities belong to JK Rowling.

**Chapter Two: George's Secret **

--

Dorado and Teddy sat on the Hogwarts express talking and found that they both had an interest in Quidditch. Further, they were both supporters of Puddlemere United and its star player, Marcus Flint, who had come out of no where after the war and wowed the wizard world with his talent.

The lads talked the subject to death, pausing only to make faces and laugh at the couple across from them who were still doing more snogging than anything else. Midway through their trip, the door to their compartment suddenly burst open and interrupted their discussion. Both boys jumped in their seats and then flew to their feet when they realized it was the food trolley.

Money wasn't a problem; Dorado's family was of course very wealthy and while Remus and Tonks had left a comfortable amount of money for Teddy, his grandmother and godfather had both heaped piles of gold into his Gringotts account.

The boys loaded their pockets with Drooble's Best Blowing Gun, Chocolate Frongs, Pumpkin Pasties and Cauldron Cakes. Dorado snatched a couple of Liquorice Wands, but Teddy looked at the dark, twisted sticks with disgust and decided to forego them.

The boys returned to their seats and began unwrapping and eating the goodies while they continued to talk.

'I don't see how you can stand to eat those Liquorice sticks, Dorado, they look nasty,' Teddy remarked as he bit the head from a Chocolate Frog.

Dorado grimaced, 'call me Nax,' all of my friends back at home do.

'Nax?'

Dorado nodded, 'yea, my middle name is Fornax, I told you. Dorado is reserved for professors and enemies.'

'Okay, Nax it is then.' Teddy felt his spirits lift slightly at Dorado's confirming that he considered Teddy a friend, although he'd been fairly certain about it in any case after all the talking they'd done.

'So what's your nickname?' Dorado asked.

'Don't have one.'

'You have to have a nickname,' Dorado whined, as if it were a common crime to not have one.

'Why's that?' Teddy responded, not at all intimidated by Dorado's assertion.

'Because, it is the name your friend's call you. Everyone else will call you Teddy, but your friends will know you by another name; like a code name.'

'What do I need a code name for? It isn't like I am an Auror on a secret mission. Besides, everyone will know my name is Teddy, all of the teachers will call me by my name.'

Dorado sighed heavily, 'a code name between friends. Gods, do I have to explain everything?'

Teddy decided his new friend was a bit barmy, but having a nickname held some attraction for him. 'My dad had a nickname; his friends called him Moony when he was at Hogwarts.'

Dorado nodded, 'probably because he was a werewolf.'

Teddy looked around at his friend, 'how'd you know that?'

'My brother told me. He said your dad was a werewolf when we were looking at the family tree one day and that is why I remembered your family. Actually I thought it was pretty cool we had a werewolf in the family. My brother said your father taught him dark art defenses at Hogwarts.'

Teddy nodded, 'yeah, he taught my godfather too. He was a Defense of the Dark Arts professor for a year. Your brother must have gone to school with my godfather.'

'Yup. They hated each other because your godfather was a jerk while he was at Hogwarts.'

Teddy narrowed his eyes at Dorado, 'my godfather was never a jerk,' he snapped, 'your brother was likely the jerk.'

To Teddy's surprise, Dorado merely shrugged, 'maybe; Draco, that's my big brother, is sometimes a jerk, he is really picky about things. He might've just disliked your godfather; he's like that; he either likes or hates people, including my friends. It bothers the heck out of me because he hates them for really stupid reasons. His wife is always a jerk, I hate her mostly, but my little nephew Scorpius is great.'

'Scorpius? Another constellation?'

'Naturally. I told you-'

'All your family are constellations, yeah I remember. So you don't get along with your brother?'

'Yeah we get along when he is not trying to tell me what to do or chose my friends for me. He is brilliant at times actually; he told me lots of cool stuff about Hogwarts and gave me a few hair growing beans before I left.'

'Hair growing beans? I have seen something similar at Wheezes, but I don't think they were called Hair Growing Beans.'

'He prolly got 'em at Dwinkles; that little Joke Shop in London. They are great. You put them in someone's drink and hair starts growing all over their body. I tried it out on my dad during dinner, he looked so funny. Hair sprouting from everywhere on his body right into his soup!'

'He must have been furious!'

'Yup. Sent me to my room right in the middle of dinner and made me stay there for two days,' Dorado laughed.

'Two days, that must have been awful.'

'Not really. They brought my meals to my room and I spent the whole time playing with my super magical games.'

Teddy laughed, 'some punishment.' Harry had bought a super magical game set for Teddy and he spent hours and hours willingly playing the game.

Dorado nodded, 'anyway, the point is, you need a nickname.'

'Oh that, well I don't have one.'

'We have to think one up. Your father's nickname was pretty cool, but you need one that is your own. What's your middle name again?'

'Remus.'

'Um, that doesn't help much. How about Remsy?'

'Remsy? Not unless you want me to call you Dora.'

Dorado laughed, 'gods, we'll think one up later,' he said quickly turning to look at the compartment door.

The kind faced older boy who they had met earlier popped his head into the compartment at that moment. 'We will be arriving soon, change into your school robes.'

The boys extracted their school robes from their luggage and changed, although the couple across from them seemed oblivious to the instruction. However, they too finally arose as the train began coming to a stop and whipped on their school robes.

The evening was warm for winter, but both lads had their coats buttoned up over their robes when they alighted from the train.

'Firs'-years! Firs'- years over here!' boomed a loud voice.

Dorado and Teddy moved toward the voice with the others in their year.

'That must be Haggard,' remarked Dorado, 'my brother told me about him. He's a weird sort that raises all kinds of odd creatures – a real nutter.'

'No he isn't. I have met him before and his name is Hagrid. He is a little clumsy, but actually a pretty cool bloke.'

Dorado didn't look convinced and shrunk away a little when Hagrid made his way to stand before them.

'Teddy Remus Lupin!' Hagrid said in a jolly fashion.

'Hi Hagrid,' Teddy said cheerfully smiling up at the half giant moments before he was swooped into a rib cracking hug.

'Follow me now, wer' headin' for the boats.'

The first years followed Hagrid as he moved down a steep narrow path that opened up to reveal a great black lake. There were a series of small boats floating at the shore.

''No more'n four to each boat!' Hagrid yelled.

The first years moved to get into the boats and Teddy and Dorado found one with two empty seats and climbed inside. There were two girls, both looking rather frightened on the bench across from them.

Dorado looked at the girls from head to toe rather arrogantly and both girls lowered their eyes and snuggled a little more deeply into their seats.

'Look, the castle,' remarked Teddy.

Dorado looked up and the girls looked around at the tall towers and turrets that stood behind a great stone wall a short distance before them. It had large and small windows, each shining with light, giving the castle a fairy-tale appearance. One of the girls had a bright yellow bow in her hair and when she turned it flew from her ponytail onto the seat beside her. Dorado stood up and leaned over to pick up the bow and the boat started to rock rather precariously.

'Sit down Nax,' Teddy said, 'you are going to tip the boat.'

Dorado laughed, 'scared, Remsy?' he taunted, shifting his weight so that the boat rocked even more, 'there's nothing to be scared of, it is just a lake.'

Teddy's eyes sparked at Dorado's use of the forbidden nickname and his hair changed to a deep purple a split second before he unceremoniously shoved at his friend's back. His intention was to merely give Dorado a fright, unfortunately, he had shoved a little harder than he intended and in the next moment Dorado went flying into the lake.

The moment passed as if in slow motion; Dorado was suddenly teetering, his arms waving wildly as he futilely tried to regain his balance. Teddy arose quickly attempting to grab at the lapels of his friend's coat, but his action only caused the little boat to rock more furiously and he was unable to grip the jacket. Dorado's body curved and he cried out as he fell; his body folding as it crashed into the black waters.

'Nax!' Teddy cried watching in horror as Dorado's head submerged beneath the black expanse.

A moment later Dorado's head popped free, looking pale in the darkness of the water. He immediately began flailing about madly, struggling to get back into the boat.

Teddy's hair transformed back to its natural color as relief poured through him at the sight of his friend. He reached over the side of the boat and tried to take hold of Dorado's arm, but it was moving too much for him to grab a hold of it.

Suddenly two large hands came down from the sky and dragged the lad from the water, depositing him unceremoniously into the boat.

Teddy fell backward, stunned and his eyes followed the hands upward along the thick arms attached to them and upwards still more, until he was looking into the grizzled face of Hagrid.

'Ye can' swim yer way ter Hogwarts, lad, now stay put in the boat!' Hagrid said. He winked at Teddy as he pushed Dorado, somewhat roughly back into his seat and then turned back toward the shore again.

Dorado turned at once to Teddy and shoved him with both hands, knocking the lad harshly sideways, 'what in Merlin's name did you do that for?' he demanded, his tone angry.

'I – I didn't mean to push that hard,' Teddy sputtered. His eyes were large as he looked at the water seeping from Dorado's hair and dripping onto his face and shoulders. The sight of a disheveled and completely soaked Dorado suddenly struck his funny bone and unable to help himself, he broke into spontaneous laughter.

Dorado's eyes narrowed and his face reddened with anger, but before he could make a retort, Hagrid's voice boomed above them.

'Won't do at all fer you ter show up lookin' like you jus' stepped outta the show'r; this'll do it' Hagrid declared a moment before pulling out a huge umbrella and aiming it at Dorado's head.

Dorado cringed as Hagrid cried, '_Dryfidio!'_

'NO!' cried Teddy in the same moment; he'd seen Hagrid using magic before and on that occasion he had tried to save a pig who'd found its way into a small, but deep pond at the Burrows. Hagrid had ended up changing it into a puppy that continued to struggle in the pond, instead of bringing it to shore.

Teddy's cry when unheeded, however, as violet light roared forth from the umbrella and struck Dorado in the middle of his chest. A second later, the youth's coat went up in flames.

Dorado yelled something unintelligible as he stood up and began flapping his arms wildly, leaping up and down as if his life depended on it – and it may well have! The boat began rocking dangerously from side to side and the two little girls, its other occupants, began screaming.

Teddy, wobbling comically, managed to stand and whip out his wand. His mind raced to recall the spell Harry had taught him.

'_Aguamenti_!' he cried and relief washed over him as a stream of water shot forth from his wand, dousing the flames that were engulfing his friend.

The boat continued to rock furiously and the two little girls continued to wail in terror. They were not alone; most of the first years in the little boats had turned to watch the terrifying scene and were crying out with equal fervor.

Hagrid's hand reached quickly down again, shoving gently at Dorado's shoulder and causing him to fall back into his seat. Hagrid's idea of _gently_ was much rougher than that of non-half-giants and Dorado hit the seat fast and hard. Teddy quickly sat down, not wanting to receive Hagrid's _help _in doing so_._

Teddy stared at his friend with wide eyes, 'are you all right?' he asked anxiously.

Dorado, still somewhat in shock, wiped at his dripping face, 'I don't think I was burned,' he replied, the anger in his tone tempered by bemusement at the previous events. His coat, what was left of it, was full of large singed holes and the arms had gone completely missing.

'Oy!' Hagrid declared, 'must'o got that spell mixed again! Well jus' you be sittin' tight, we'll have you up ter the castle in no time t'all.'

The boats started to move forward and Dorado's teeth began chattering as he sat hugging himself in stormy silence.

Teddy quickly unbuttoned and removed his coat, placing it over the shoulders of his new friend.

Dorado gave him a cutting look, but he didn't remove the coat. Instead he grasped both sides of it and tucked himself deeply within its folds, his teeth still chattering a bit wildly.

The boats reached the castle wall and Teddy almost forgot about the horrific events of the past few minutes as he stared at the grand fortress peeping up behind the wall. Never had he seen anything so grand and forbidding, yet at the same time inviting and alive with promises of joyful experiences unlike anything he had ever known.

The boats passed through a curtain of ivy and along a dark tunnel that seemed to carry them beneath the castle. Finally they reached a harbor and the first years alighted from the boats and followed Hagrid onto a rock and pebble crusted shore.

Hagrid held a lamp that lit the way as they moved into a dark passageway and it wasn't long before they found themselves on an expanse of damp grass, the castle shining before their eyes.

'Everyone here?' Hagrid called looking around.

No one answered as no one knew whether or not some unlucky first year had fallen into that frightening black sea unseen and had been forever lost in its engulfing grip.

'Al'righty then,' Hagrid declared as if he'd received a response, 'in we go!' He lead the first years up a flight of stone steps and then knocked three times on a huge oak door; the entrance to their future.

The door flew open and there on the threshold to greet them was a rather severe looking woman in a very tall hat. Her robes, a striking mixture of emerald green, deep crimson, soft gold and dark blue, shifted and billowed as she stood regarding them, although there was no wind that Teddy could feel.

'Firs'-years,' declared Hagrid, 'Headmistress McGonagall!'

Teddy looked at Dorado and he could tell that the lad knew he was looking at him, but Dorado pointedly ignored him, staring straight ahead and hugging Teddy's coat about him.

He looked up to find Hagrid standing up; he'd obviously bent to speak privately with the Headmistress.

Headmistress McGonagall turned, her robes swirling around her, 'thank you Hagrid,' she said solemnly, 'first years, follow me.'

The students followed the Headmistress and Teddy looked about him in awe as she led them into a large room with long tables flanked by benches. What appeared to be hundreds of students sat on the benches before the various tables. The first years followed the Headmistress along the isle in the center of the room and stopped when the McGonagall turned to face them again.

The Headmistress walked slowly back through the group and stopped next to Dorado. Without a word she pointed her wand at the lad and issued a silent spell.

Dorado jerked, startled by the unexpected action and stood looking dumbfounded as McGonagall turned and walked away afterward toward the front of the group.

Teddy looked at his friend whose clothes and hair had been completely dried by the spell and a moment later Dorado turned to face him. Without a word he jerked Teddy's coat from his shoulders and flung it toward him. Teddy hadn't expected the toss and nearly dropped the coat as it flew before him through the air.

McGonagall's voice rang out at that moment and both boys snapped their heads forward.

'Welcome to Hogwarts,' McGonagall said, 'in a little while you will all be enjoying a delicious banquet. But first you will be sorted into your houses by the Sorting Hat.' She signaled to a patched, frayed and very dirty hat that sat on a four legged stool before them.

The Headmistress continued to speak about the houses and the Sorting Ceremony, but Teddy missed every word. His attention was once again trained on his friend who continued to purposely ignore him.

'Sorry,' Teddy whispered out of the side of his mouth.

If arrogance was an art, Dorado was the greatest artist that had ever lived. He was the epitome of haughtiness as he stood staring straight ahead, his eyes trained on the Headmistress and giving no indication whatsoever that he'd heard Teddy's apology.

'I didn't mean for you to fall in,' Teddy said, his voice resembled a sigh as he tried to speak convincingly, but softly enough not to be heard by the Headmistress.

Dorado's eyes started to sparkle and suddenly a whisper shot back toward Teddy, 'I've decided on your nickname.'

Teddy's eyes shot sideways, unsure that he had heard Dorado correctly.

Dorado's head moved slightly in a nod, 'dudgeon brains.'

Teddy heard Dorado clearly that time, although he wished he hadn't. He couldn't help himself; he tried with all of his will and might to hold it in, but he failed miserably. A burst of laughter escaped him, sounding loudly in the suddenly very quiet room.

Headmistress McGonagall had stopped speaking at once and stood glaring at Teddy, her eyes boring into his face.

Teddy quickly suppressed his laughter under McGonagall's fierce regard and he stood afterward, chastened, his nerves on end and his eyes peering at the ground.

'When I call your name,' McGonagall's voice rang out, 'you will place the hat on your head and sit on the stool where you will be sorted.'

Teddy's head shot up and he looked at the Headmistress, who was no longer regarding him, but had turned to stand at the side of the stool. He felt a wave of relief wash over him at the unexpected escape from being chastised in front of all of the first years by their Headmistress.

He glanced quickly at Dorado and saw that his friend was grinning as if they had gotten away with a grand prank. Teddy wasn't so sure about all of that, but he grinned as well, mostly to relieve his remaining anxiety.

The hat began singing a song describing each of the houses in turn and as Teddy listened he once again prayed that it would not sort him into Hufflepuff; he began wishing more fervently as he heard the hat's description of that house. He might be _just and loyal_, but he was fairly certain that he wasn't cut out for a life of_ toil_.

The hat finished its song and the room burst into applause; to Teddy's surprise, the hat took four grand bows, turning to each of the tables before it once again grew still on the stool.

'Jovenious Thomas,' announced the Headmistress.

Teddy watched as a tanned-skin lad with large brown eyes, made his way to the stool, careful to place the hat upon his head.

The boy closed his eyes and sat for what to Teddy was an extraordinary amount of time before the hat suddenly shouted, 'GRYFFINDOR!'

There was a grand applause and cheers from one of the tables as the boy, smiling lightly, slid from the stool and placed the hat back upon it. He walked over to the table that had been cheering and sat down to numerous hands patting him on the head and back.

The Headmistress called name after name and each of the first years took their place on the stool to be sorted. 'SLYTHERIN' it called for a rotund and rather clumsy looking boy; 'RAVENCLAW' it shouted for a scared looking blond girl, 'HUFFLEPUFF!' it yelled for a bespectacled short lad, and Teddy looked at the little lad with pity.

Teddy felt nerves began to crawl about his stomach as student after student was called to the stool, and then, 'Teddy Lupin,' said the Headmistress and he flinched.

He bravely moved forward and took a hold of the hat, sat on the stool and placed the tall pointed hat on his head.

Teddy squeezed his eyes shut, 'please don't put me in Hufflepuff, _please!'_ he thought.

Teddy jumped on the stool when he heard a small voice in response, his eyes popping open in the expectation of seeing someone standing before him. It was then he realized that the hat was speaking!

'Hufflepuff is one of the greatest houses; it runs through the line of the greatest warriors of our time. It runs through the line of wizard families world over, nary a one has escaped its prowess, including yours,' the small voice finished.

Teddy wasn't so sure about all that, he just knew he didn't want to be in a house with such a funny name. But the voice had frightened him for some reason…he hadn't expected the hat could read his thoughts. He stopped thinking.

'Um…too I see bravery, daring and nerve before me; but the warrior is there; laying in wait to wrestle with the moon,' and then abruptly it shouted, 'GRYFFINDOR!'

Teddy couldn't help the grand smile that whipped across his face at the word. He nearly ran to the Gryffindor table after thrusting the hat back on the stool. He sat down to the same cheers and applause that had met the other students, the smile never leaving his face.

Several more students were sorted into the four houses before McGonagall declared, 'Dorado Malfoy!'

Teddy looked up swiftly and watched his friend sink onto the stool and place the hat on his head. The hat once again seemed to take an inordinate amount of time in reaching a decision. He saw Dorado's brows cross downward and his lips form a thin line and he wondered if his friend was arguing with the hat.

Finally, after what seemed like hours of anticipation to Teddy, the hat yelled out its decision, 'GRYFFINDOR!'

Teddy couldn't contain his happiness; he stood and clapped louder than everyone else at the table and let out a wolf call that would have made his father's brows shoot up with surprise.

Dorado made his way to the table, a small grin on his face, the only sign that he was pleased with the decision. He was applauded and patted like all of the others before the table finally quieted to allow the sorting to continue. He squeezed onto the bench next to Teddy.

'This is brilliant!' declared Teddy.

Dorado nodded, his grin broadening to a smile, 'my family is going to be distraught!'

Teddy creased his brow, 'they will?' he asked, clapping with Dorado as another student was sorted into Gryffindor, although neither looked up.

'Slytherins all of them, one after another and they insisted that there was no chance I would end up anywhere else. I can't wait to write them!' he added gleefully, 'I can imagine the look on their faces! It's…well it's smashing!' he broke into a delighted chuckle.

'But why will they be distraught? Won't they only be surprised?'

'Oh I dunno,' Dorado said shrugging, 'my mum and dad bemoan everything that doesn't go exactly their way. They have moaned and groaned since the day I could think for myself because I am always putting up an argument about nearly everything they say,' Dorado chuckled again.

'Ah well, they'll get over it,' Teddy said offhandedly.

Dorado nodded and then both of them looked up smartly when the Headmistress's voice sounded. The sorting had finished and they hadn't even noticed.

They were instructed to eat and food began appearing on the table before them. Dorado removed his coat and Teddy noted that his friend's new robe was in as bad a shape as his coat had been. Huge gaping holes, singed with black, covered nearly every inch of the garment, making him look like a veritable hobo.

Dorado didn't seem to care; he began filling his plate with food and joined Teddy in eating hungrily with all of the others at the table. The evening progressed quickly and it wasn't long before most of the students were sitting back with full stomachs and a sense of lethargy spreading through them.

McGonagall stood from her place at the High Table and addressed the students once again. She told them about the upcoming Quidditch trials, a new recreational wing that had been added to the west wing of the castle and then in a stern voice recited a list of places where the students were forbidden to go.

When she finished, her face softened and she declared they should all sing the words that would appear above them using the melody of their personal favorite tune.

Dorado looked at Teddy with a raised brow, 'this outta sound brilliant.'

Teddy laughed and watched as a ribbon flew from the Headmistresss wand, high above the tables and twisted into a series of words.

'Pick your melodies and let's begin!' declared the Headmistress jovially directing them with her wand.

The students all began singing the words to the sound of wildly clashing notes and a myriad of melodies. Teddy and Dorado too began to sing, but half way through they caught one another's eye and burst into laughter.

Those around them continued to sing, except for the tanned-skinned lad who Teddy remembered seeing earlier. He had obviously seen them laughing and it seemed to have propelled his own mirth; he sat laughing as hard as they were at the _singing _about them that might better be described as _noise._

The Headmistress seemed thrilled however, her eyes tearing up as she listened and she continued conducting until the last student bellowed out their melody of the rather oddly worded song.

The Headmistress looked up when the last note sounded and after wiping her tears she began speaking again. 'That was beautiful, beautiful! A tradition begun by the great Headmaster Dumbledore. Now it is bedtime! First years, follow your Prefects!'

'First years!' called an older lad from the front of their table, 'follow me!'

Teddy recognized him as the nice fellow who had driven the bully away from them on the train. He and Dorado got up and followed the other first years out of the Great Hall and up a grand marble staircase. They proceeded to move up a series of moving staircases until they reached a platform and older lad turned to lead them to the end of the corridor. When they stopped, they were standing before a portrait of an extremely fat lady.

'You have put on a little weight I see,' the Prefect declared to the lady in the painting.

'Of all the-' began the Fat Lady.

But the Prefect interrupted her, 'Lionsbeard!' he cried.

The Fat Lady looked at him with something very much like dislike before swinging the portrait forward and allowing them to enter. They all tumbled through and met again in a spacious and comfortable looking common room.

'Lionsbeard is the password to get in,' announced the Prefect, 'you all must remember that! Now Girls,' he pointed to a doorway, 'your bedrooms are that way. Boys,' he continued, 'follow me.'

The Prefect led them through another door and up a spiral staircase where they finally found rooms containing beds.

Teddy and Dorado ran from room to room with the other boys, searching for their luggage. They were delighted to find that they had been placed in the same room with three other boys, but their luggage had been placed on beds at opposite sides of the room.

Dorado quickly gripped a hold of his trunk and dragged it to the bed next to Teddy's.

'Sorry mate,' Dorado said to the sallow faced youth who had begun opening his truck that was perched on the bed, 'this is my space.'

The youth looked as though he might argue the point, but after regarding Dorado for a moment, he shrugged and carried his things to the bed Dorado had abandoned.

Teddy and Dorado grinned at one another before they began unpacking their things. Teddy saw the tanned-skinned youth unpacking his things from a trunk on the other side of Dorado and recalling that the lad had joined them in laughter in the Great Hall, he was not unhappy that the lad was also going to be one of their roommates.

He turned his attention back to his friend, 'Do you know how lucky it is that we ended up in the same house?' Teddy declared.

Dorado looked a little nonplussed for a moment, but he quickly adjusted his face and grinned, 'it's brilliant,' he replied.

Teddy sighed, 'at least we didn't end up in Hufflepuff; such a silly name for a house, I think I would laugh myself silly every time I entered the place. I think the hat was actually thinking of putting me there!'

Dorado laughed and shook his head a little, 'I am sure the Hufflepuffers would disagree with you.'

'Prolly. Let them; I will just point and laugh.'

The boys chuckled and continued to organize their things in the room.

Teddy pulled out a pair of old, but very well kept boots and set them quickly on the ground next to his bed.

'Look at those,' commented Dorado.

'What,' Teddy said defensively, knowing that Dorado referred to his boots. The boots had belonged to his father; the first pair of boots that Remus had owned when he'd gone to Hogwarts. He'd grown out of them quickly, after only a year, but kept them because they had cost a lot of money.

Remus' parents had found out and told him not to be silly, buying him a new pair of boots and storing the original boots that were still nearly new in a cupboard. Over the years Remus had kept the boots together with a number of other items throughout his life, all of which had made their way into his son's hands.

The boots fit Teddy perfectly, but they were quite old fashioned and while he had every intention of wearing them, he was not inclined to listen to Dorado taunt him about them.

But Dorado's words found him turning to his friend with astonishment.

'Those are the coolest boots I have ever seen in my life! Where did you find them?' he asked.

Teddy could tell that Dorado was sincere and his esteem for the other lad leapt up twenty-fold. He thought they were pretty cool too, despite being a zillion years old.

'They belonged to my dad when he was at Hogwarts,' Teddy responded.

'Wow; I haven't seen anything like um before or I would have gotten a pair myself. They are brilliant.'

Teddy smiled, 'they are,' he concurred looking fondly at the boots.

'That's it!' Dorado cried.

Teddy looked up confused, 'that's what?'

'Your nickname!'

'Huh?'

'Boots! We'll call you boots after the coolest gift your father left you in the world.'

A slow smile spread across Teddy's features, 'love it!' he declared.

'Then Boots it is,' Dorado said cheerily, 'I'd reckon it is as cool as Nax.'

'Cooler,' Teddy asserted.

Dorado laughed, 'with those cool boots you can make all of the girls want to snog you just like that couple on the train.'

Teddy's hair turned a bright orange as he regarded his friend making an unpleasant face.

'Wow,' Dorado said, his eyes growing wide, 'you – you're a Metamorphmagus!'

Teddy realized his hair had transformed and quickly sent it changing to its natural color, 'yeah I am.'

Dorado fell onto his bed, his face still swathed in awe, 'that is…BRILLIANT!' he roared.

Teddy shrugged, used to people finding his unique gift amazing.

'How can you be so calm about it? If I were a Metamorphmagus, I would…well I would love to be one!'

'It isn't all that great,' Teddy said nonchalantly.

'Merlin, Boots! How can you say that?'

Teddy smiled a little at the use of his new nickname, 'well I am used to it; been one all my life.'

'That is awesome, my friend. You can…well you can look however you want!'

'Yup.'

'Change your face!' Dorado demanded.

Teddy scowled at his friend.

'Come on,' Dorado cajoled, 'just this once, let me see. Change your face!'

Teddy sighed and changed the shape of his nose and lips, making them grow fat and his nose rather long.

Dorado laughed, 'that is brilliant!' he declared watching his friend's face return to normal. 'You are just full of surprises, Boots my friend.'

Teddy shrugged again, 'I'm surprised you didn't know; my mum was a metamorphmagus too and you seem to know a lot about my family.'

'Only the details that my brother told me; like my parents, he wasn't too fond of your branch of the family so he left out all the good stuff.'

Teddy chuckled, 'same with my Gran; she didn't talk about your part of the family. My godfather wasn't all that forthcoming either; I don't think he knew all that much about your part of the family. All I ever heard were names and that the family didn't get along.'

'Or he agrees with your Gran!' Dorado said knowingly.

'Maybe. Although he told me a lot about Sirius Black, that was _his_ godfather and he was great friends with my dad.'

'Ah yeah, another person whose name is scratched up on our family tree.'

'Figures; I guess there is a solid line down the family tree that splits it.'

Dorado chuckled, 'well they are all going to have to get used to a rejoining of family forces because Boots and Nax have finally found one another!'

Teddy laughed, 'whether they like it or not.'

Dorado nodded as the boys finished their unpacking.

Not much later, Teddy and Dorado were sitting on their beds with their curtains open, writing letters to their relatives and informing them of the events of their first evening – conveniently leaving out the whole black lake fiasco.

They had planned to send the letters first thing in the morning via owl, but then they saw that their tanned-skin roommate was sending _his _letter out that night. He had his own owl.

The boys watched their roommate tie his letter to his owl and Dorado finally spoke up.

'You are lucky to have your own owl,' he said to the boy.

The boy looked up and smiled, 'my parents gave him to me; I guess they wanted to make sure they would hear from me.'

'What do you think about letting us attach our letters with yours?' Dorado asked, seemingly ignorant of the fact that his request might sound a little forward. They didn't even know the lad's name.

But to Teddy's surprise the lad smiled, 'sure, hand them over. Just write your direction on the front.'

Dorado and Teddy wrote out directions on their letters and then handed them to the boy. The lad then tied them to his owl's leg next to his own.

'She'll fly them all to the right place.'

'Great!' said Dorado.

'Thanks a lot,' added Teddy.

The lad stood and moved to the window and lifting the sill he allowed the bird to fly into the darkened sky.

'All done,' he declared shutting the window and turning back to face Dorado and Teddy, 'my name is Joven Thomas, by the way,' he added.

'Dorado Malfoy,' Dorado said cheerfully.

'Teddy Lupin,' Teddy declared.

Joven smiled, 'well nice to meet you. I am going to sleep, I feel like I am going to fall over.'

'See you tomorrow then,' Teddy said kindly as he watched Joven tuck himself onto his bed and pull the curtains closed.

'See ya,' Dorado added.

Dorado and Teddy moved into their beds as well shortly after that, although they left the curtains about their beds open so they could see one another.

Dorado looked at his friend and sighed, 'so they have forbidden us to enter the dark forest, the seventh floor far left corridor, the kitchens and to do any magic in the hallways!'

Teddy nodded, his face solemn, 'which shall we check out first?' he asked.

Dorado grinned, 'I knew you were meant to be my best mate!'

Teddy's answering grin was even wider.

--

Harry and Ginny had invited George Weasley and Seamus Finnigan over for an early breakfast before work. There was a small business matter of some urgency that the four of them had to discuss. They finished their business quickly and then sat at the table while Harry shared Teddy's first letter home from Hogwarts. The owl had surprisingly arrived at dawn, waking up the entire house hold in order to deliver its missive.

George read Teddy's rather long note and then began laughing uproariously.

Harry and Ginny looked at him in some confusion.

'What is so funny?' Harry asked.

'Well this makes it obvious! Teddy has no idea!' George declared with mirth running through his tone.

'No idea about what?' Ginny asked impatiently.

George dark eyes sparkled mischievously as he looked around at those seated at the table.

Harry didn't understand George's reaction, but like every time the spark of mischief had lit George's eyes during the last ten years, he felt a surge of happiness swell within his heart. It was something that the family had thought they would never see again after Fred's death and which they had not seen for a solid year following that event.

Harry and George alone knew the reason for the traumatic change that had sent George recovering from the grief that had stricken him upon losing his twin. When others asked George about it, he'd just wink and smile mysteriously. They eventually stopped asking, merely pleased that he'd come out of the desolation he had been under for an entire year.

-_Flashback-_

George, more than all of them, had been inconsolable after his twin's death. Everyone knew that a part of George had gone sailing to the after-life with his brother on that day and the man left behind was a mere shadow of who he had been. He had spent two weeks without saying a word, his eyes puffy and red and his spirit completely broken.

It had taken all of them to get him to travel to Fred's funeral where he stood a good distance from the grave, surrounded by all of his loved ones except his parents who had stood at its edge.

He hadn't cried and his face was set in stone throughout the service. Numerous people had spoken and the service was a long one. At the close, George had suddenly moved forward to stand at the edge of the grave. He stood a little apart from the rest and looked down and softly began speaking.

His words were a complete mystery to all that were listening. They seemed to be a series of half sentences and disconnected thoughts uttered between long pauses. But no one interrupted him until he was finished and he had left the side of the grave and moved a short distance away. He broke down then, sobbing, and every family member and half the crowd attempted to move to his side to console him.

After that, George had withdrawn completely; He barely ate, rarely spoke and spent long hours alone in his room, refusing company. A year passed and while everyone he'd ever known had attempted to speak to him and offer assistance, he would have none of it. It seemed no one could bring George out of his desolation.

George's grief began to affect those around him. The entire family had fallen into a sullen and morose like existence. The small happy moments that followed were always bitter sweet as one of their own sat suffering above stairs, putting a pall over their very existence. That was only secondary to the sadness and loss they all felt and continued to feel; unable to themselves overcome the death of their loved one while George continued to suffer.

The family was under the mistaken belief that George was on the point of taking his own life. They began voicing the belief to one another and the strain on the family became almost unbearable.

It was then that Harry did something he thought he would never do. He went to George's room, used his wand to open the door and stepped inside. George looked up at him sullenly from where he sat on the bed, but said not a word.

Harry met George's eyes and simply said, 'come with me?'

Without a word, George edged from the bed and followed him. They walked downstairs and out through the back door and when they reached the backyard of the Burrows, Harry gripped Georges arm and apparated them.

George had no idea what had compelled him to accede to Harry's request that he follow him. He had been at the breaking point; he no longer wished to live, but his strength of character and that part of him that would always be Fred, had refused to allow him to take any steps toward ending his life. When Harry had come and forced his way into the room, something inside of him had obliged him to follow.

George was amazed when he found that Harry had apparated them to Hogwarts; a place he had decided he never wanted to see again in his life. This was the horrible, vile and villainous place where life had been sucked from his soul when it took his twin. He almost refused to take another step as Harry moved through the familiar gates that led to the castle. But he inexplicably found himself following in Harry's wake.

To George's surprise, Harry did not lead him to the castle; he turned and followed a pathway that lead to Hagrid's hut. However, before they reached Hagrid's place, Harry turned again and led them right into the forbidden forest.

George followed. He had no anxiety though dangerous creatures still lurked within the dark trees. They walked a great distance, seemingly in circles before Harry finally came to a standstill. George watched as Harry knelt upon the ground, his form barely discernable in the darkness and began moving his hand along the floor of the forest.

Soon after, Harry stood once more and faced George. His hand, fist balled, was suddenly reaching in George's direction and the older Gryffindor understood that Harry was handing something to him.

'If you are willing to sacrifice what you have become for the happiness of all of your family and friends, then I bequeath this to you,' Harry said softly.

George considered the words for a few moments and then slowly held out his hand. He felt something drop into his palm; something small and hard; something powerful. He could feel the strength of the small shape in his hand the moment it was placed there.

George began turning the object over and over in his hand. He was unsure why he did so, but when he shifted the object in his palm, it sent a surge of calmness through him he'd not felt since _that horrible day_, nearly a year before. He saw Harry backing away and then his eyes darted to the left as the sound of twigs cracking met his ears. That is when he saw _him_.

Not a ghost, no much more real than a ghost and yet, not entirely corporal either. But the familiar lopsided grin, the one he'd seen mirrored back at him too many times to count, was once again before his eyes.

His heart began racing and a surge of emotion, indescribable and known only to twin spirits, poured through his soul.

_Fred!_

The word was so much more than a name. It was a thousand emotions, a thousand thoughts, a thousand dreams and had a thousand meanings, all shared, all beloved. When the voice of his much-loved double reached his ears, tears stung his eyes.

'Holey!' Fred called.

George blinked and a tear fell unbidden, but he ignored it as his lips began to tremble into a grin and a moment later laughter, beautiful, pure, undeterred laughter rang from his throat.

Fred shook his head sadly, as if he were disgusted by the reaction.

'Th-That is the best you could come up with after all this time?' George sputtered, his mirth untamable, 'use _my_ joke! _My _joke? And you called me pa-pathetic when I came up with it!'

'A solid year later,' Fred said sternly, a sternness only his brother would understand was not stern at all, 'and you've still done nothing about that hole in your head! Our reputation-'

'Is sullied!' finished George.

'Quite! I am the butt of every joke, I tell you George and the best of the best jokers are here with me in the after-world! If I hear one more joke about holes-'

'You'll fall into one never to be-'

'Seen again! Exactly. I am devastated!' Fred placed a hand to his heart dramatically.

George's laughter rang out again.

Fred suddenly looked over one shoulder, then the other discretely before moving in closer, his face nearly touching his twin's face, 'George,' he whispered, 'I am not to say this, but of course we know what one must do when they are disallowed from doing something.'

'Do it twenty-fold!'

'Precisely and with-'

'Gusto!'

Fred's laughter joined George's in an uncanny match of cadence and level, 'George, it is incredible here…when I say the best of the best I mean it! But you and I here in the after-world, well, we would rule!'

George smiled grandly.

Fred continued softly, 'As it is I am doing my best to cause mischief here and I do so quite often. But there is a lot of competition and I mean a lot! The Marauders are here and they are…well, let's just say, experienced!'

George laughed; his happiness at seeing his twin again, finding Fred unchanged by disaster, hearing the contentment in his voice – all of it – it filled his heart with unequalled delight.

Fred joined in, laughing just as hardily for a few moments before continuing, 'I am faithfully upholding my half of the Fred and George Weasley legacy here I'll tell you, but when you arrive, well we will be unmatched, unequaled!-'

'Unbeatable!' George said grandly

Fred laughed, 'when I come around, they are all wary, they knew of our greatness before I arrived!'

George's grin was wide, 'did they?

'Oh yes, those who value pranks, mischief and jokes above all things challenge me constantly, they know that I am but half of the greatest team ever to walk the wizard world and they continuously put our ability to the test! I often come through George; I use everything I have, and that includes the part of you that continues to live inside of me, and I often succeed!'

George laughed again, shaking his head a little.

Fred joined his laughter, but then his face sobered a little, 'and our time will come, but-'

'It is not yet our time.'

'Not yet; and until then, well, you have not been keeping up your side of the-'

'Bargain-'

'And it is a blemish on the -'

'Great legacy of the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes on earth!'

'Yes! George, Yes! Fake wands-' Fred said excitedly

'Canary Creams-' added George

'Extendable ears-'

'Puking Pastilles-'

'Who will supply them? Hogwarts is opening again! The great legacy is-' Fred began.

'At stake and I sit wallowing in misery-' George finished.

'Like a veritable dunderhead!'

'When I should be fulfilling our legacy here-'

'Yes! Leaving the legacy of our greatest achievements before-'

'I join you there and-'

'We take the wizard after-world by storm!' Fred finished grandly.

'But I must see to leaving our mark on earth first!' George said determinedly.

Fred's face mirrored that determination, 'you my lad, my twin, myself, have much to do and you've wasted so much time!'

'It's disgraceful!'

'An abomination!'

'What was I thinking?' cried George.

'You could not think; all of your thoughts passed out through that hole in your head!'

George laughed wildly, 'when I could have placed a permanent-'

'Extendable ear!'

'Over the hole and banished it so I could think again!'

'And look half decent,' added Fred, his brows tilting comically.

'But I would no longer be saint-like, no longer _holey_,' mused George with false gravity.

'And no longer cause your better half to be the laughing stock of the after-world!'

'Better half! How dare you! I have every mind to leave the hole!'

'Don't even think it! It would be a _whole_ lot better if you did not!'

'Oh now that was pathetic!' George laughed gleefully.

'I'm missing my worse half, how do you expect me to come up with something better?'

George's eyes were sparkling now, 'the best half is the worst half and-'

'The worst half the best!' Fred said merrily.

'We've never been parted!'

'Just left to do damage in two dimensions at once!'

'And I have-' declared George.

'Fallen way behind!' Fred said sternly.

'No longer! I shall do my part to finish what we have started here!'

'And not a moment too soon,' quipped Fred, 'you are starting to resemble Moaning Myrtle!'

'Oh that is low, my dear brother; that statement requires that I exact retribution!'

'And the sooner you complete our earthly task, the sooner you shall have it!'

George laughed, 'ah, even more incentive!'

Fred grinned, placing a hand over his heart once more, 'on my honor, I solemnly swear, I-'

'Am up to no good-' George piped up quickly.

'And I will not leave any world of-'

Which I have been a part without-'

'Fulfilling my legacy as-'

'The greatest mischief maker that-'

'World has ever known!'

The twins broke out in laughter once more.

'You've much to do,' Fred said jovially.

'And I must set about doing so immediately,' George declared, 'and I will see you there, dear one, who is me, upon completion of my task!'

'And I will await you and have everything in place for us to build our legacy here. It will be greatest-'

'Challenge of all!' George finished, the gleam in his eyes meeting that of his twin's.

Fred smiled grandly.

George read a thousand messages in that smile, all of the things he'd been wishing he had been allowed to say before Fred had been taken. George's answering smile repeated each of those thoughts and the understanding, love, and singleness of being was confirmed between them.

Life was never to be without Fred, life was Fred. They had a purpose and it was left to George to finish it. And then he would join Fred to continue what his extraordinary other half had started in the after-world!

George knew Fred would not leave until he was quite ready for him to go. But the identical smiles between them had accomplished everything that was left to be said and understood.

'I would say goodbye, but I understand now, you are always with me,' George cried happily.

'Your better half!' Fred asserted.

'And I am always with you!' George added.

'My better half!' Fred Agreed.

'And your better half is better than mine!' declared George.

'Pathetic!' cried Fred, 'please work on the jokes before you arrive, George. I told you; here we have the best of the best here! Potter, Black, Lupin…they don't miss a trick! You mustn't come trotting along and embarrass us!'

George laughed loudly, matching his twin's loud laughter.

It was to that rollicking sound that George turned, his heart pumping with happiness, his soul revived and now, a man with a mission. He was not alone, never that, for they would always be one, acting independently in two dimensions and creating equal havoc in both!

George walked slowly through the darkened forest, unknowing and uncaring where he was going, but his heart was light for the first time in what seemed like forever and his spirits were impossibly high.

George ran into Harry after walking some distance; his eyes were still sparkling and his grin was full of joy, 'I bequeath this to you,' he said merrily, dropping the stone he'd held in his palm.

Harry's smile would have lit the forest if that were possible, he accepted the stone and moved away, dropping it to the forest floor. Like he'd done nearly a year before, Harry once again bequeathed the stone to the protective forces of the grand, dark woodland.

It was the miracle Harry had hoped for and yet one he hadn't been certain would be possible. But like himself, George had used the stone to enable a self-sacrifice, albeit a very unique type of self-sacrifice and somewhat different from the one Harry had used it for. George had proven to be a worthy possessor of the Hallow.

- _End Flashback-_

--

A beautiful white owl flew into the Great Hall while Teddy was seated with his best friend and housemate, Dorado, enjoying a delicious lunch at the Gryffindor table. The boys were to commence classes that very afternoon and their spirits were high.

The owl flew about Teddy's head, pestering him until he reached to take the note and box that it held.

'You got a letter,' Dorado said with some envy in his tone.

Teddy nodded while placing the box on the table and opening the note. His eyes drifted downward to find the signature, 'it's from my godfather!' he declared happily.

'Cool,' responded Dorado grumpily.

Teddy began reading the note and missed the delight on his friend's face as an owl swooped down moments later with a box and two letters for Dorado.

'I get to keep the owl!' Teddy declared still staring down at his letter, 'my godfather recommends that I name her Hedwig after a great, beloved owl.' Teddy took no notice of the fact that his friend wasn't listening to a word he said.

Teddy continued to read and at when he finished the letter he sat staring at it in shock, his eyes glued to the note.

Dorado had finished reading his two short notes and sat smirking as he folded them and stuffed them into his pocket. He reached for the box that had accompanied his letters and noticed his friend's astonished expression.

'What's happened?' he asked.

Teddy didn't respond, he just continued to stare down at the note.

'Boots!' Dorado said sharply, 'life to Boots!'

Teddy's head came up slowly, his face was red as a beet and his hair began transforming to match.

Dorado looked as if he might laugh at the hair transformation, but the look on his friend's face apparently stopped him, 'what's wrong?' he asked.

'My – my mother,' Teddy mumbled.

Dorado's brows creased as he continued to regard his friend, 'your mother?' he said softly, almost reverently.

'She – she was a Hufflepuff,' Teddy declared, his tone washed with remorse.

Dorado's eyes grew wide for a moment and then he threw his head back and roared with laughter.

Teddy looked at his friend in askance for a moment, but then regarded the letter again.

When Dorado's laughter died down Teddy met his friend's eyes, 'Merlin,' he declared, 'I am so sorry for all the things I said…Hufflepuff is – well it must be wonderful if my mother belonged to it.'

Dorado snorted, 'all of the houses are great, Boots. Each one has something great about it.'

Teddy nodded, 'I mean my father was a Gryffindor and he was brilliant! And my mum, she was brilliant too…I just assumed…now that I think on it, some of the pictures I have from when she was young, she was wearing Hufflepuff colors. I should have known; all those awful things I said…' his voice petered out a little miserably.

Dorado waved his hand dismissively, 'your mum is probably laughing just like I did. You didn't know.'

A small smile crept about Teddy's features, 'My Gran and Harry always told me my mum had the best sense of humor. You are probably right.'

'Of course I am. I am always right.'

Teddy rolled his eyes and folded his letter, placing it carefully into his pocket. He reached for the box that had accompanied his letter and ripped it open to expose mounds of cookies, candies and pastries.

Teddy looked up to find that Dorado had done the same with his box and an equal amount of treats were inside of his friend's box.

'We are set for the term, Nax!' declared Teddy.

Dorado pulled a face, looking from his box to Teddy's 'unless I am mistaken, this will only last us about two weeks maximum.'

Teddy laughed, 'you are probably right. We'll have to ask for more in our next letters home.'

Dorado nodded in agreement as he turned to accept a timetable from a professor who had been passing them out to the students at the table.

'Um, potions first this afternoon,' Dorado declared looking at the sheet.

Teddy grinned, 'excellent. I've been looking forward to learning all about them. I've read about potions; there are marvelous things one can do with them.'

Dorado chuckled, 'I don't think we are going to be learning how to make anything very interesting; just the basics.'

'Agreed. But we will learn the basics and we can figure the rest ourselves,' Teddy declared.

Dorado's eyes filled with devilry, 'you are brilliant, Boots, you know that?'

'Yup,' Teddy concurred smiling grandly, 'I'm my mum and father's son.'


	3. Monsters in the Attic

**The Amazing Adventures of Teddy Remus Lupin **

The extraordinary adventures of Nymphadora Tonks and Remus Lupin's son and godson of the famous Harry Potter during his seven year journey through the Hogwarts School of Magic. Adventure, Humor and Romance.

**A/N:** Thank you all for the notes you left!

Disclaimer: All HP characters, situations and entities belong to JK Rowling.

**Chapter Three: Monsters in the Attic**

**--**

Teddy and Dorado arrived a little early for their first ever class at Hogwarts. They were sharing a table near the rear of the classroom and like all of the other students, they sat with suppressed excitement waiting for the class to begin.

There were two large cauldrons on the table before them which were already half filled with a green watery substance.

'It looks like mucus!' exclaimed Dorado, standing to peer down into his cauldron.

'How about a closer look?' Teddy quipped, pressing a hand to Dorado's back and abruptly pushing him forward a little.

Dorado quickly slammed his body backward into his seat and gave Teddy a quick punch in the arm, 'didn't you learn anything the last time you shoved me around, you dunderhead?'

Teddy laughed, but his laughter was cut short by the entrance of their professor. The man was rather rotund; his belly protruding before him as he made his way to the desk before them. He turned and beamed at the class, his huge bushy mustache quivering a little as he did so.

'Welcome Slytherins and Gryffindors to your first potions class! I am Professor Slughorn and I am happy to see so many shining and familiar faces before me,' he chuckled, 'of course I don't know many of you personally, but I have worked with nearly all of your parents in the past and I am sure I recognize a good number of their progeny here among us!'

The professor stood looking over the class, his smile wide, 'we are going to work hard this term and I expect you will all walk away with a very good understanding of the art of basic potions!' he finished jovially.

'Don't they make a _slimming _potion?' Dorado whispered to his friend.

Teddy sniggered.

Slughorn's head jerked in the direction of the boys, 'well now, we don't want any talking among us while we go about our work,' he said, his voice a little stern and his eyes boring into Dorado's face, 'potions making is serious business and the slightest distraction while brewing can end up in a grand catastrophe!'

Teddy looked at Dorado out of the side of his eye and noticed that his friend's face had been assembled into a near angelic expression. Teddy had to fight to hold in the laughter that threatened to overtake him at Dorado's attempt to look innocent.

'Now then,' Slughorn continued, finally looking away, 'open your _Beginning Potion Making_ books to page twenty-one and then collect the ingredients you will need from the side table.' He pointed to a long table covered with strange looking pieces and parts near the window. 'Brew your simple boil curing potions by following the directions in the book and you may skip the first five steps as that includes creating the base potion which has already been accomplished for you and sits within your cauldrons.'

Slughorn clapped three times abruptly, 'be about it then!'

The students began reading their potions books and Teddy and Dorado followed suit.

'I thought he said simple!' Dorado groaned a moment later, 'there are twelve steps following the first five!'

'Just pay attention and get them right, Nax,' Teddy responded, 'remember, we have other plans for potions and learning the basics is just the beginning.'

Dorado grinned and moved with Teddy to the side table to get the ingredients they would need. The boys brought the carefully weighed dried nettles and snake fangs back to their table and began carefully following the instructions in the book.

Slughorn's huge form jiggled as he suddenly ran forward to a table where two girls had managed to cause a bubbling red liquid to erupt from their cauldrons. 'No, no, no!' Slughorn said, his voice still jovial, 'you must crush the fangs before inserting them!' He waved his wand and their cauldrons returned to their former state. 'Now begin again!' he said happily as he moved to survey the work of the other children.

Teddy and Dorado had placed their snake fangs before them to begin crushing when Dorado suddenly picked up one of the fangs and regarded it curiously.

'I wonder if these still have venom in them,' he mused.

Teddy shrugged and was wholly unprepared when Dorado suddenly jabbed him lightly in the arm with the fang he was holding; the pointy end puncturing his skin.

Teddy yelped and grabbed his arm, looking at a laughing Dorado with narrowed eyes, however, before he could rebuke his friend, Slughorn raced to their table. The professor's brows sunk together in a frown as he regarded Teddy.

'What have we here?'

Teddy looked up quickly, 'Nax,' he began angrily, then immediately broke off, 'that is,' he said with some hesitation in his tone, 'I – I jabbed myself with one of the fangs by accident.'

Slughorn's laughter rang out, 'Teddy Remus Lupin is it not?'

Teddy nodded.

'Yes, yes, I taught your father Remus! Not brilliant in potion making, but excellent in theory; always among the highest marks for the written portions. I never taught your mother, but she was a fantastic Auror! I am certain she was quite good in potions. Now your godfather, well that is a different story! Among the most talented of potion makers I ever came across!'

Slughorn pulled at Teddy's arm, pulling his hand away from the wound. 'Nasty little puncture,' he remarked as he whipped out his wand and waved it above the small red mark on Teddy's arm. The skin began slowly transforming and within seconds it looked completely healed.

'There, good as new. Just be glad that I removed the venom from those,' he said chuckling, 'now carry on and be more careful, Mr. Lupin.'

Teddy nodded and when Slughorn turned his back he turned and slugged Dorado in the arm.

Dorado flinched at the punch, but didn't retaliate; instead he grinned and continued crushing his fangs.

'Just be glad I didn't rat you out, I was going to you know,' Teddy remarked angrily.

'Calm down Boots; I knew the venom was out. My brother told me that they remove all the harmful stuff from everything first years work with.'

'Yeah well if you do anything like that again they are going to have to remove _you_ to St. Mungos,' Teddy responded spitefully.

Dorado laughed and continued crushing the fangs.

The class progressed rapidly and soon Teddy and Dorado were stirring up their final brew. Slughorn was moving among the tables drawing potion from each of the cauldrons, making comments, writing grades for each of the students and awarding or detracting house points.

When he arrived at Teddy and Dorado's table, the boys moved back from their Cauldrons.

'Well, well, what have we here?' Slughorn inquired looking into their cauldrons and dipping a silver ladle inside to draw liquid into vials that appeared in his hand out of thin air. 'Oh fine, fine; you have both done a brilliant job at mixing the boil curing potion! You will both receive top marks and five points for Gryffindor each!'

The lads smiled brightly at the professor.

Slughorn regarded Dorado for a moment, 'and who might you be lad?'

'Dorado Malfoy.'

'Malfoy,' he mused, 'you couldn't be Draco Malfoy's son I don't imagine; who is your father?'

'Lucius Malfoy, sir.'

'Ah! Had no idea he was still at it,' Slughorn cackled greatly, 'well that is remarkable, remarkable!' he cackled a bit more. 'A complete horror at potions, Lucius was, but Draco; that would be your brother, correct?'

Dorado nodded.

'Well your brother was better, much better,' he added jovially, then he regarded Dorado quizzically, 'but you seemed to have slid down from the other part of the family tree. Now your mother's family, some great potion makers along that line; Bellatrix, Sirius…' the professor's voice faded as he appeared to fade into private reminisces.

Dorado glanced at Teddy, his expression indicating that Slughorn was nutters.

Slughorn gave his head a small shake, 'yes well, there is potential there in your past my boy; keep up the good work!' He jiggled off then, to see to the other student's cauldrons.

'The man is a nutcake,' Dorado remarked, 'I hope all of our professors aren't barmy. He seems to be more interested in our family trees than our potion making.'

Teddy laughed, 'he is a bit odd, isn't he?'

The boys cleaned up their desks and soon after, Slughorn announced the class was at an end. 'Good work all of you for the first day. Read pages twelve through twenty and twenty five through thirty before our next session!'

'Uggh,' Dorado moaned, jotting down the page numbers, 'I hope we don't get a ton of work today.'

'Well we only have Herbology after this, so hopefully not.'

'Mr. Lupin?'

Teddy looked up to see Professor Slughorn regarding him.

'A word if you please?'

Teddy nodded and looked quickly at Dorado before snatching up his school bag and walking to where the professor stood at the front of the class.

'Come into my office for a moment, lad, I would like to speak with you for a few moments.'

Teddy's eyes grew large as he nodded.

Professor Slughorn chuckled, 'nothing bad, I assure you. Just wanted to chat with you a few moments about your wonderful family!'

An hour later, Teddy found Dorado in the Gryffindor common room after his meeting with the professor.

Dorado looked up when his friend entered and grinned, 'Slughorn give you the heavy hand, Boots?'

Teddy shook his head and flopped down in a chair next to his friend, 'no, he spent the whole time talking about my godfather, telling me what a great potions maker he was and then telling me all of the stuff he did when he was younger against that dark wizard Voldemort…you were right! The man is barmy!'

Dorado laughed, 'he's a nutter alright.'

Teddy nodded, 'he told me he holds small receptions for some of the students here and that he would invite me to them.'

'Receptions?'

'Yeah, with food and stuff; he said that he thinks certain students ought to get to know one another better.'

Dorado rolled his eyes.

'Exactly,' Teddy said pulling a face, 'who would want to spend time with that old barmy professor meeting a bunch of weirdo students he has picked out to be your friends.'

Dorado laughed, 'does that mean you aren't going to go?'

'Wild dragons couldn't drag me there!'

Both boys chuckled and at Dorado's suggestion they moved upstairs to the dorm room to gather their materials for Herbology.

--

Harry had just stretched his legs along the couch and pulled his son James onto his lap when a rapid pecking sound reached his ears. Harry shot up from the couch, setting James on the floor and moved rapidly to the window. He saw the beautiful white owl he had purchased for Teddy flapping merrily outside of it.

'It's a letter from Teddy!' Harry yelled excitedly.

Little James began hopping up and down and clapping, more in response to his dad's excitement than any things else, and Ginny flew into the room from her study.

Harry pulled the letter free and then gently stroked the owl, 'off to the owlery, you,' he said softly.

The owl turned and flew toward the rear of the house where the family's four other owls nested and Harry turned back into the room, his face alight with excitement.

Ginny laughed looking into her husband's face and Harry smiled at her grandly.

'See I told you he would write often!' Ginny said happily.

Harry pulled a face.

'And I am glad you waited a day to write him again, Harry,' Ginny continued, 'Teddy would likely be embarrassed to receive letters from us everyday of the week!'

Harry chuckled, 'I've already got another box of treats packaged up.' He opened the letter, addressed to them both and began to read.

'Dear Harry and Ginny, I am so sorry that I made fun of Hufflepuff,' Harry chuckled with Ginny before he continued, 'if my mum was a Hufflepuff I would have been proud to have been one too. But I love Gryffindor. The people here are all very nice and my friend and I have put up lots of posters of Puddlemere United on the wall of our dorm room. He is for Puddlemere too.'

'He has a friend already,' Harry said turning from the note to look at Ginny and smiling excitedly.

'You look like you are eleven years old again yourself, Harry,' Ginny said fondly.

'Well you should see the look on your face!' he retorted.

Ginny laughed; it was true, she was as excited to hear that all was going well for Teddy as Harry was.

Harry continued, 'we had our first potions class and I made a perfect potion. The professor said I had a natural talent for it and then he made me go to his office and he talked about you for a long time.'

'Slughorn!' Harry declared, 'figures.'

He looked at the letter again, 'I named the owl Hedwig after the great, ancient owl,'

'Who said anything about ancient?' Harry said laughing, 'our Teddy has quite the talent for exaggeration!'

'Ancient owl you told me about,' Harry continued, 'and she is really great. Thank you for giving her to me and I also liked the pasties very much. You can send those any time you want.'

Harry and Ginny broke out in laughter.

Harry's voice was filled with mirth as he continued to read aloud, 'my friend, Nax and I ate almost all of the great pasties and things that were in the other box.'

'Nax, that is his friend,' commented Harry.

'I heard,' Ginny said giving him a wry look.

Harry laughed, 'odd name that's all.' He looked down once more, 'I also had Herbology and the professor was very old and could not hear us very well. She can't walk very fast either, so if you muck up your work, you can usually fix things right and tight before she comes to your seat. I like that class a lot, we can talk all we want because she can't hear us.'

The couple laughed again.

'I miss you both and James and Albus and I am writing Gran, so you don't have to tell her that also. I will write again soon and I like your letters a lot and the boxes too. Love Teddy.'

Harry and Ginny laughed again at the final pasties reminder and then Harry stood staring at the letter, his eyes misting up and threatening to spill. Ginny's eyes were spilling already.

'He sounds so happy, I miss his little sweet face.'

Harry nodded, 'we'll have to travel up for a visit.'

Ginny nodded, recalling that it wasn't a usual thing to do, but not caring in the least.

'I better send two boxes this time,' Harry said, removing his glasses to wipe at his eyes.

'Harry! You'll spoil him.'

'Well who knows when you'll next let me write; I want to make sure he doesn't run out.'

Ginny laughed, 'well it isn't a problem; I've already made up a box for him too.'

Harry laughed and hugged his young, pregnant wife tightly to his chest.

'Father!' James cried from behind them, 'are we reading?'

Harry looked toward his son and releasing Ginny he leapt forward to grab him from where he stood before the couch, 'Yup, James Sirius Potter, you little rascal; we are reading, right after I write Teddy back.'

James squealed with delight as his father began swinging him round in a tight circle.

'I'll write the letter, you two sit down,' Ginny offered moving to get a quill and scroll, 'just tell me what you want to say and I'll add it.'

'Okay,' Harry agreed, 'my box of pasties is on the dresser.'

'All right, and keep it down you two, you'll wake Albus!' Ginny called.

Harry settled back on the couch once more with James on his lap _reading_ a moving picture book and sat regarding his son while thinking about his godson's happiness, a small, silly smile in place across his lips.

It was good to relax; Harry had spent the day with Hermione in the large room set up in the back of their house where the two worked to decipher and study dark objects, incantations, curses, spells, jinxes and hexes.

After the war, Harry had little idea what he wished to do. He had toyed with several ideas, but had found his interest peaked by work Hermione had begun on her own. Hermione had undertaken a private investigation of the dark arts with an eye toward boosting the defenses of the wizard world against dark magic. Harry had become intrigued and soon joined her in her efforts.

The two had begun slowly, Hermione doing most of the reading and Harry doing most of the practical work at Harry's large kitchen table, but they soon found that they required more room. Harry had enlarged his home to accommodate their needs and the two had begun a serious study of defense against the dark arts.

Harry had begun reading more and Hermione doing more practical work at that point, and currently they were equal partners in the venture. They'd had many successes in finding new counter-curses and other defenses and had begun turning over their completed work to the Ministry's Auror Department. The Ministry paid them handsomely for their efforts and both had come to love their self-created jobs enormously.

Ron who did broadcasts for a London based Quidditch Radio show worked mostly on the weekends. During the week he went into the stations office for a couple of hours each day to prepare and arrange for the shows. After work the brief sojourn to his office, he traveled to Harry's home where he'd sit pestering Hermione and Harry, which they enjoyed, while supposedly watching all of their kids.

Ginny had begun working again when Albus turned three and went to the Ministry of Magic offices each day to serve as the head of the newly reformed Care for Magical Creatures office. She was currently making great strides in helping werewolves, vampires and other wizards with non-human characteristics assimilate into the wizard world. With the help of other departments and many like minded co-workers, their efforts were progressing nicely.

It was a far cry from her first career as a professional Quidditch player; but it was just as rewarding. They still had trouble convincing some of the werewolves, vampires and others that society's rules were changing to accommodate them, but they continued valiantly to make it work and their progress was slow, but steady.

Ginny brought the two boxes full of goodies together with a scroll and quill into the front room. She sat at a small desk against a side wall to write Teddy back. Harry shouted sentence after sentence and she began feeling like a secretary, but finally he finished and allowed her to add a few words of her own to the note to her beloved Teddy.

--

Teddy and Dorado spent the morning of their second school day in Divination and Perceptions class; the reformulated Astronomy course that was taught by a centaur named Firenze. The class had been taught in a dungeon room that had been converted into a forest-like setting complete with a starlit sky.

Firenze had the children lay on the floor while he spoke to them in soothing tones about the general layout of the stars and other astronomical bodies that illuminated the darkness above them. Dorado and Teddy agreed that the class had been their favorite so far; possibly because they had not been required to do anything, but lay still and listen.

'We'll we've defense against the dark arts next!' Dorado said gleefully as they moved together down the hall after class.

Teddy smiled mischievously, 'yup, this is one class I have really been looking forward to!'

'Me too. Draco told me all about it; lots of crazy spells and wild creatures…it sounds like a blast.'

Teddy nodded, 'same here. Harry told me it was his favorite class – well, he said it was when my father taught it anyway.'

The boys entered the classroom where their dark art defense classes were to be held and moved closer to the front this time. They sat near down and noticed that there were only Gryffindors present.

'I guess each house has this class alone,' Teddy mused.

'Good,' Dorado said off-handedly, 'more creatures for us to destroy!'

Teddy laughed.

Their professor entered the room and both boys gaped at him a little. He was nothing like their previous professors, although Firenze had been a bit of a surprise as well. The professor looked young for one thing and he wore his long hair in a ponytail that shifted about gently as he moved.

His light brown eyes and dark brown hair emphasized the paleness of his face; a face that carried a friendly smile as the professor regarded the students before him. He was tall and slender and when he spoke, his voice was gentle and kind.

'Hello,' he said rather softly, causing those in the rear to shift in their seats in order to hear. 'I am Professor Passat and I will be your instructor for your defense against the dark arts course.' His gentle smile returned, 'these days we are not as concerned with wizards having to actually defend themselves against the dark arts of other wizards as in the past; however, there are many creatures and objects that are still classified as dark. Some of you may come across dark materials in the future and it is good to have a basic foundation in defense.'

The professor's eyes fell upon Teddy and the lad shifted under the rather intense gaze of the professor.

'Our first lesson will concentrate on the Boggart,' the professor continued.

Teddy listened attentively, but noticed that the professor seemed to meet his eyes quite often as he spoke, always the same gentle glance, with just a touch of curiosity in it. It made Teddy feel a little uncomfortable to continually receive the looks, but no one but him seemed to notice.

Teddy saw that Dorado was paying strict attention to the professor's words together with everyone else and didn't seem to notice anything out of the ordinary.

The professor explained the creature and how it transformed to represent their greatest fear. Then he explained the spell they would use to reduce it to something manageable so they could rid themselves of the Boggart. Finally, he told them the proper incantation and wand movement required to cast the spell and instructed them to practice both.

'That's it Teddy, very good,' Professor Passat commented as he passed by their table. Teddy looked up and smiled wondering if the professor knew all of their names.

'A little gentler, Dorado,' he said to his friend.

Apparently he knew all the names, thought Teddy. He was impressed with the professor and liked his kind, easy going teaching methods.

'Okay then,' the professor said, once again at the front of the class, 'everyone rise from your seats and join me here up front.'

The students arose from their seats and joined the professor then watched while he caused all of the desks and chairs to stack themselves neatly on top of one another against the walls of the room, leaving a nice big barren area in the middle.

'Right,' the professor continued when he finished rearranging the room, 'now then we will begin. Who would like to go first?'

Several students eagerly raised their hands and Teddy saw the professor signal their roommate, who had allowed them use of his owl.

'What is your name?' the professor asked kindly

Teddy felt a small wave of surprise pass through him. The professor didn't know all of the names after all, only his and Dorado's; at least so far.

'Joven Thomas,' remarked the youth.

The professor regarded the boy oddly for a moment before smiling again, 'very well, come forward and stand here,' he pointed to a spot before a large oak cabinet.

'I will let the Boggart out and it will change form to meet your greatest fear. Do you know what you fear the most?'

Joven bit his lip, 'well, I am awfully afraid of snakes.'

'Fine,' said the professor, 'then it will probably take the form of a snake. When it does, you imagine the snake as something funny-'

'A wiggling liqourice stick!' Joven said smiling.

'Good!' the professor agreed, 'you imagine wiggling liqourice sticks and perform the spell, alright?'

Joven nodded and watched as the professor opened the cabinet.

The Boggart ran free into the room, peered at Joven for a moment and then transformed into a huge, frightening looking snake.

'_Riddikulus!'_ cried Joven waving his wand and there was a loud pop, the Boggart at once became a wiggling liquorice stick causing all of the students to laugh.

'Excellent Joven! Next!' cried the professor

Dorado shoved his way forward and the wiggling liqourice stick immediately transformed into a large, scary looking bear.

'_Riddikulus!' _Dorado yelled, jumping backward and waving his wand rather maniacally.

The bear did not transform however, it merely started moving toward Dorado as if it was planning on making a nice lunch of him.

'Again, Dorado Again!' cried their professor.

Dorado screamed the spell, still backing away, his wand in motion. This time following a loud snap the Boggart transformed; the bear wore a little skirt and began to dance before their eyes.

Everyone laughed again except Dorado, whose eyes narrowed at the dancing bear as if he would like to murder it.

'God Job Dorado! Next!' the professor cried, and student after student tangoed with the Boggart, some more successfully than others. A petite girl with long waving red hair was the first who seemed unable to deal with the Boggart. The trouble was, the Boggart had transformed from the last funny creature into a Boggart again.

It would seem her greatest fear was a brand new one in the form of the small animal they were now facing. She cried the spell over and over, waving her wand, but the Boggart did not transform from a Boggart and moved menacingly toward her.

The professor intervened after she'd tried three times and tears had sprung to her eyes. He quickly got the Boggarts attention and it immediately transformed into a ring of wild and fierce flames roaring as they moved closer to the professor.

'_Riddikulus_,' the professor said calmly with a flick of his wand and following a severe and rather loud _crack!_ the Boggart dissipated before their eyes.

'What is your name?' the professor asked the small girl who stood crying and wiping at her eyes.

'Gessica,' she said brokenly in a forlorn little voice.

The professor moved forward and placed a hand on her shoulder, 'well Gessica don't worry about that pesky little creature. He figured out that you were quite frightened of him and double-crossed you at the last moment, transforming into your new fear. You'll take him out next time…next time you'll be ready!' He pulled a piece of chocolate from the folds of his robes and handed it to her.

'Eat this, it will help you feel better,' he said softly.

The girl smiled up at him tremulously, popping the chocolate into her mouth. The professor gave her shoulder a squeeze and then turned to face the students again.

Teddy and a couple of other children had not yet dealt with the Boggart and the professor signaled them to come forward.

Professor Passat looked at Teddy curiously, 'have you determined what you fear the most?'

Teddy shrugged a little, 'I suppose a huge bear would be frightening,' he replied with uncertainty. He hadn't really been able to think of something that scared him more than anything else and Dorado's bear seemed as scary as anything else.

'All right then,' Passat said smiling, 'I shall release another Boggart and you have a go.'

The Professor flicked his wand at the cabinet and one of the drawers popped open to reveal another Boggart.

The creature lunged forward and caught sight of Teddy, instantly transforming before his eyes. But no bear appeared; instead there was an eerie figure of a man swathed in bloodied, loose clothing closing in on him.

The vision was completely unexpected and Teddy stood staring at it with wide eyes for a moment, his heart racing with fear as the bloodied man, his face shredded and bleeding began stumbling toward him. It was then Teddy realized that the blood soaked _man _bore a startling resemblance to himself.

Teddy blinked, recalling the professor's instructions and forced himself to laugh. He was surprised to find that the harsh, fake laughter he'd barked out had reduced his fear and he raised his wand and shouted, '_Riddikulus!_'

The stumbling man paused and then tripped falling flat on his face and leaving a pile of rags in his stead.

'Excellent Teddy, excellent!' Professor Passat cried, smiling at the lad before him with that same penetrating look in his eyes.

'Next,' the professor said, his eyes never leaving Teddy as the lad moved backward into the group of students who had already performed.

Teddy watched the other students have a go and noticed that the professor's eyes had not left him until the Boggart once again transformed for the next student.

Their first defense against the dark arts class ended on a smashing note, all of the children had managed to learn the spell, even the red-haired little girl had succeeded after shyly asking to try again at the end.

The class cheered when the professor told them that they had done a splendid job and he was awarding Gryffindor fifty points. He handed out chocolate to the entire class, instructed them to eat it and then dismissed them.

'What was that you saw?' Dorado asked Teddy curiously when they were leaving the class, 'it looked like a weird kind of mummy or something. I thought you said your fear was a bear.'

Teddy shook his head slowly, 'no idea. I expected a bear and that just happened, it was strange, but it was scary enough.'

'I'll say,' agreed Dorado, 'I had enough trouble with that darned bear, thank god I didn't get that gruesome mummy you had, I don't know if I could have done much about it. It was pretty cool when that bloody bloke fell over though,' he finished chuckling.

Teddy smiled, 'yeah, I couldn't think of anything other than to make him disappear because I hadn't expected it.'

The two continued talking about the Boggart transformations as they made their way to the Gryffindor table in the great hall for lunch.

Teddy saw Hedwig fly in with not one, but two boxes attached and he and Dorado gleefully opened the boxes to reveal numerous pasties and other goodies before he read the letter from Harry and Ginny that was attached.

'Um, says they might come up and visit soon,' mused Teddy.

'Visit you here?' Dorado asked with a bit of surprise in his tone.

Teddy nodded, 'they don't say when, just soon.'

'A visit from the famous Harry Potter,' Dorado said off-handedly as he shoved his plate away and patted his full stomach.

Teddy shrugged, 'just coming to see me, not to battle dragons.'

Dorado laughed, 'so shall we check out that corridor on the 7th floor or the dark forest? We have an hour before Transfiguration.'

Teddy's eyes lit up as he folded his note and put it away, 'I think it was called the forbidden forest, but let's check out the 7th floor first it's right here close by.'

Dorado smiled, 'let's go.'

The boys arose from the benches and moved as swiftly as the moving staircases would allow to the 7th floor.

'Far left corridor I think she said,' remarked Dorado, looking around to see if anyone was about.

'Yup,' Teddy agreed, his tone an excited whisper.

They walked to the end of the hall and turned along a sharp bend in the hallway that led to the restricted area. They moved forward along what appeared to be a corridor like all of the others in the school, but no doors flanked the walls as they did in the other passages. There was just one door which sat at the end of the corridor; it was a large oak door and seemed to have markings upon it.

The hallway didn't seem particularly frightening, and the lads walked confidently toward the door. They came to a stop before the large oak façade and regarded the markings that were strewn about it. The markings were actually etchings that looked as if they had been burnt into the wood; strange crisscrossing symbols that seemed quite meaningless.

The lads looked at one another and simultaneously reached for the door knob. Teddy allowed Dorado to grip it and the boy twisted at the large knob, but it didn't give.

'Locked,' Dorado said sighing.

'Well we were forbidden to come here, so it doesn't surprise me.'

Dorado pulled out his wand and looked at the door, 'I know an unlocking spell, my brother taught me, but when I do it, there is usually a great popping noise.'

Teddy chuckled, 'Harry taught me that one as well. Alohomora?'

'Yup,' Dorado looked at his friend, 'can you do it without a pop, Boots?'

'Nope.'

'Darn and it is a loud pop I take it.'

'Yep.'

Dorado sighed, 'someone will hear us for sure if we try it.'

'If we don't try it we won't get in,' Teddy reasoned.

'True but…'

However, Teddy wasn't one to wait for long discussions and agonizing decisions; he drew his wand, aimed it at the door and cast the spell Harry had taught him.

'_Alohomora_!' he exclaimed.

As the lad's had feared, a huge pop resounded, a normal consequence of the spell when used by an unpracticed hand. The sound reverberated through the corridor and sounded as if someone had set off a large explosion. The boys cringed at the loud noise and in the next second they were both fleeing down the hall and out of the restricted area.

There was no one in sight as they rounded the sharp bend in the corridor and they slowed to a walk.

'Merlin that was loud,' Dorado said in a hushed voice, 'someone is going to come for sure. Let's get over to the house.'

They began running again and did not stop until they were standing in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady that guarded their house entrance. They stood staring at one another and panting slightly from their previous exertion.

The portrait swung open without either of them saying a word and both cowered as several students came running out.

'What was that noise?' asked the Prefect, whose name they had discovered was Andrew Sawyer.

Dorado recovered rapidly, 'no idea, we just came up the stairs and ran here when we heard it.

A moment later the caretaker of the castle, Filch, slithered up the stairs and onto the seventh floor landing. He looked to where the Gryffindors stood, 'what was that loud bang?' he asked, his voice loud and suspicious.

Suddenly from seemingly no where, Peeves, a poltergeist, and more solid looking than the various ghosts that Teddy and Dorado had already been privileged to meet, appeared and floated directly over Filch's head.

'New blood, same-old crud, the school is swimming with mischief!' Peeves the ghost sang down on them before cackling and repeating the song again.

Filch was immediately distracted and turned to the poltergeist with fire in his eyes, 'if you don't shut that trap of yours now I am going to go get the Bloody Baron!' Filch screeched.

Peeves stopped singing at once and with a small pop he was gone.

Filch turned around again, 'now what was that noise!' he demanded.

'We have no idea,' Andrew said, looking a little molested, 'we were trying to figure it out when you arrived. It sounded as if it were close by and we came out of the common room to see.'

Filch narrowed his eyes at the small group of Gryffindors and scowled, 'get back in your house!' he said nastily and turned heading off in the direction of the restricted area.

Teddy and Dorado looked at one another and then quickly followed their house mates back into the common room. They found a deserted corner with two chairs and sat down.

'We are going to need a better plan,' Dorado remarked, 'I told you we shouldn't have tried that spell!'

'You didn't say that at all. You said-'

'Whatever I said,' Dorado interrupted, 'it doesn't matter now, obviously it didn't work.'

'How do you know? For all we know the door is unlocked now. We didn't try it again.'

'Well if it is, that stupid Filch character will likely seal it all up again.'

'What we have to do,' Teddy said thoughtfully, 'is learn to perform the spell better. Harry can do it without the popping sound.'

'Draco can too,' Dorado nodded, 'let's go outside and work on it now!'

Teddy nodded and arose to follow Dorado back out of the common room.

The lads found a wide grassy pathway at the side of the castle that seemed to be deserted. The area was lined on the other side by tall bushes that kept them shielded from sight and they could see if any one was coming along either side.

'We really need a locked door,' mused Teddy.

'No we don't. Didn't the spell work for you at home?'

'Yes, but we used a door to try it.'

'Well so did we,' Dorado said smartly, 'but it always worked even with the pop. We just need to get rid of the popping sound.'

The boys began practicing the spell; the pops were actually not very loud out of doors, they had merely been horrendously so in the cavernous hallway.

They worked tirelessly for fifteen minutes, repeating the spell again and again before they noticed their efforts having any affect.

'Hey!' Teddy declared looking at Dorado's wand, 'I barely heard it the last time you did it!'

Dorado nodded his head excitedly, 'it seems to have something to do with the way you wave your wand. When I don't jerk it, it is quieter, watch.'

Dorado proceeded to show Teddy what he'd done and the boys renewed their efforts with the new information. By the time another ten minutes had passed both were smiling broadly as they performed the spell; Dorado's was soundless and Teddy's had just the merest whisper of sound.

The lads were so engaged in what they were doing, they failed to hear or see the approach of a tall figure coming upon them from behind.

'Hello lads,' said a familiar voice.

Dorado and Teddy spun around to gape at the newcomer, instinctively hiding their wands.

Professor Passat looked at them kindly and smiled, 'getting in a little practice I see.'

The boys continued to stare in silence.

The professor chuckled, 'don't worry, it is quite all right to practice spells,' he quirked a brow, 'even those you have not learned yet.'

The lads relaxed a bit, pulling their wands from behind their backs and both tentatively smiling at the professor.

'We are getting very used to students coming along quite prepared with a number of spells under their belts before the term starts,' the professor added quietly, 'I imagine it came into fashion after the war for people to start teaching their children spells at quite a young age.'

The lads nodded, still not prepared to speak.

'The Ministry knows all about it; they don't approve of underage magic on the face. But families would only declare it was incidental magic if asked and they generally stop teaching when their children reach eleven. But I think the Ministry thinks it is a good practice overall.'

Professor Passat looked at Teddy, 'and so do I,' he added.

Teddy noticed that professor was giving him that same odd look he had given him in their defense class. It was both penetrating and curious and once again Teddy began to feel a little uncomfortable.

'Well you boys had better head back inside; don't you have a class starting on the hour?'

Dorado came to life, 'Transfigurations! We are going to be late! See ya later Professor Passat,' he called as he took off running.

'Bye Professor,' Teddy said and with a last look at the man, he sprinted to catch up with his friend's disappearing form.

The two made it into Transfigurations in the nick of time, flopping down into two empty seats next to boys they did not know, panting furiously.

Headmistress McGonagall, who had continued to teach first year transfiguration over the years, eyed the boys as they fell into their seats, but she didn't say anything to them.

The lads rather liked transfigurations especially when their Headmistress turned into a cat before their eyes. The act reminded Teddy of Harry's telling him about his father's friends all being animagi and he wondered whether their Headmistress might also be one. It was quite possible, he thought, that she had merely managed to use magic to transfigure herself and wasn't an animagi.

Both boys were able to successfully turn the small rats they had been given into cups…with rat parts. Dorado's ran about his desk causing Teddy to quake with laughter and Teddy's was still, but the rats head was sticking out of one side.

McGonagall seemed pleased; two of her students had actually done it perfectly. A rather short, squat girl with long black pigtails from Slytherin and their roommate Joven.

'Fine then,' she announced when she'd collected the rest of the transformed atrocities, 'practice the spells on inanimate objects, do the reading I have assigned and write out an essay on what we've learned today. Ten points each for Gryffindor and Slytherin. Class dismissed.'

Dorado and Teddy gathered their school bags and left the room, walking slowly through the mill of students toward Gryffindor. All of their classes were finished for the day and they were once again discussing the seventh floor corridor.

'Well now that we can do the spell almost silently, I say we give it another try tonight when everyone clears out of the hallways.'

Teddy nodded, 'you can do it completely silently, so you-'

But Teddy stopped mid-sentence when a flash of light flew from before them and hit his friend square in the chest.

'Nax!' Teddy cried out as he watched his friend start to wobble, his legs looking like jelly as he stumbled forward and fell.

Teddy fell next to his friend, his head moving between Dorado's face and the crowd, trying to see who had issued the jinx. He caught sight of a chubby, older boy slinking away and recognized him as the lad from the train who Dorado had sent flying into the wall.

Teddy looked back at his friend, 'are you alright?'

'My legs,' Dorado complained, 'I can't put any weight on them without them wobbling.'

Headmistress McGonagall stepped into the corridor then and rushed forward, 'what's happened here?'

'That boy,' Teddy began, his voice angry, 'a fat, older boy cursed him and now he can't walk.'

Headmistress McGonagall's lips formed a thin line, 'well let's get him to Madam Pomfrey shall we?'

Teddy scooped up Dorado's school bag from the ground and assisted McGonagall escort his friend to the hospital wing. When they arrived, Teddy was told to wait outside.

Teddy stood outside of the large doors and fumed, thinking of ways in which they could pay back the chubby lad for striking Dorado. He began to worry that Dorado might have to stay in the hospital wing for some time and became even angrier.

However, a few moments later, Dorado came bursting through the door followed by their Headmistress with a lop-sided grin on his face.

'You all right?' Teddy asked.

'He'll be fine,' McGonagall replied, 'now both of you to your common room.'

The lads turned and began walking down the corridor and Teddy handed Dorado his school bag.

'It was that horrid creature from the train that did it to you,' Teddy remarked as they walked.

'It was?' Dorado narrowed his eyes, 'pay back is a wicked witch!'

Teddy nodded, 'he'll be sorry, the fat goat.'

'He was a blubbering whale, wasn't he?' Dorado asked.

'Fat, ugly goat.'

'We'll have to think up something special for him,' Dorado mused.

Teddy nodded and then frowned, 'Harry didn't teach me any jinxes. Only basic spells, darn it.'

'Don't worry; Draco taught me a few and I'll show you all of them. Then we'll get our revenge on that idiot goat!'

Teddy was delighted at the prospect of learning a few wicked jinxes, 'great, teach them to me now!'

Dorado laughed, 'all right. Let's put our stuff away and then we can go back to that grass area. Not for too long though, we have a lot of homework.'

Teddy rolled his eyes, 'we'll each do half of it and finish twice as quickly.'

Dorado nodded, 'good idea!'

So it was that Teddy became the proud owner of five new, easy to cast jinxes that Draco had taught Dorado. Together with the few spells he'd begun with Harry, and the few he'd learned in classes, he was well on his way to having a nice little arsenal…at least to his mind.

The lads settled down that evening and split up their homework, copying the other half once they'd finished their own work. They were both smart enough to change the language about a bit and when they finished it appeared as though they had both done the entire thing themselves.

They waited with anticipation until most of those in the common room had gone to bed. Only a couple kissing in one corner and their roommate Jovan finishing up his homework were left in the room when they decided to venture out.

Curfew had passed, but the castle had not been darkened for the night. The lighting had dimmed to a soft glow, however, making everything around them seem more eerie. They crept along the empty hallway to the other end and then taking one last look around they slid around the sharp bend into the restricted hallway.

They began creeping down the restricted corridor and Teddy silently hoped they would make it into the room behind the grand door before the lights went out completely.

They moved slowly, as if walking fast might alert someone to their presence and both nearly jumped out of their skin when a soft sing-song voice suddenly rang out behind them.

'Creeping in the hallway, naughty bit o' danger,' the voice sang.

Dorado stood from his crunched position of fright and faced Peeves angrily, 'shhhh!'

'What are you little babies doing out of your cribs? Trying to be like Loopy and Batty? The corridor is off limits; I should go get the headmistress!'

'Peeves is it?' Teddy questioned in a whisper, 'please go away, we just want to see behind the door.'

'Bitty Batty and Little Loopy want to see the secret,' the poltergeist cackled.

Dorado furrowed his brows, 'why are you bothering us? Go do – go do whatever it is poltergeists are supposed to do!'

'What do you think I am doing?' Peeves cackled again.

'What is behind the door Peeves? Do you know?' Teddy asked curiously.

Peeves cackled again, 'Peeves knows everything, it's a secret,' he sang.

'So tell us or go away,' Dorado demanded.

Peeves grinned, 'just like Batty and Loopy, you'll end up covered in muck,' his cackle rang out long and wild, but oddly enough quite softly and it didn't reverberate about the passageway.

'Who are Batty and Loopy?' Dorado asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

Peeves crossed his arms and legs, still floating above them, 'Batty and Loopy are your betters!' he said crossly.

'Our betters?' Dorado questioned arrogantly.

'They wouldn't be so stupid as to come down a corridor after hours totally unprepared!

'What do you mean?' Teddy asked, his tone confused.

'Loony Loopy Lupin and Barmy Batty Black had much more sense and always had reinforcements! They never traveled without Psycho, Puddlebrain, Potter! I hope you get caught!' Peeves began dancing away from them in the air, 'you are trying to be like your forefathers, but you are just miniature versions and much dumber besides!' He finished in his sing-song voice before floating away down the corridor at great speed.

Teddy's face was swathed in anger, 'he was talking about my father! My father was _not_ loopy! I am going to throttle that stupid poltergeist!'

'And he was also talking about someone with my mum's family name,' Dorado declared equally enraged.

'Sirius Black, he was friends with my father and also my godfather's father, that was who he meant by Potter,' Teddy informed him.

'Well nobody gets away with insulting my family members! Even if the person is scratched out on our tree!' his tone became arrogant, 'he insulted us as well; he said we were trying to be like them and called us dumb versions or something!'

'Teddy was still blinking angrily down the corridor, 'he thinks we are trying to be like them, does he? Well he's wrong! They allowed that freak to live!'

'Freak is too kind a word for him,' Dorado spat.

'I'm going to make him eat those words, you with me, Nax?'

'Yup,' Dorado looked down the hallway with rage in his eyes, 'do you think he went to rat us out?'

'Probably, the drifting dirt bag.'

'We better get back to the common room then,' Dorado commented, his tone resigned and a little dejected.

'No,' Teddy responded at once, his attention focused on his friend again 'if he tells we'll get in trouble anyway. Let's look inside, quick!'

'Well I was thinking of denying the whole thing, but you're right, let's have a look!'

Dorado and Teddy grinned at one another, their anger momentarily forgotten as they turned and ran toward the oak door at the end of the hallway. Teddy tried the door again, but it was locked.

He looked at Dorado, 'do it, Nax.'

Dorado drew his wand and as he had that afternoon, performed the unlocking spell, but this time after whispering it and using the wand just so, there was no resounding pop. There was a click however, emitted from the door.

The lads looked at one another and then Dorado reached out and tried the knob again. The knob twisted around this time and the door gave way, opening to complete blackness inside. Teddy pressed the door a bit more and they peered into the darkness.

'I can't see a thing,' Dorado whispered, 'you?'

'I can't make out anything, it is too dark.'

'Blimey, my brother tried to teach me the wand lighting spell, but he got all obnoxious when I couldn't do it and gave up. I never learned it,' Dorado said as if angry with himself.

'Harry didn't teach me that one either, maybe we can-'

'What are you guys doing?'

The voice came from behind and both boys flinched and turned quickly, nearly falling over in the process as they looked down the hallway.

Their roommate Joven stood at the other end, peering at them, 'I saw you leave and it is after curfew you know.'

Dorado had regained some of his bravado, 'you saw us leave? How did you know we had come here?' he asked suspiciously.

Joven started walking toward them, 'I followed you. I have been watching. I wondered what was over here too.' He didn't sound at all put out by Dorado's tone.

Dorado looked at Teddy quickly then back at Joven, 'so what do you-'

But Dorado never finished his sentence because at that moment the lights in the hallway went out completely.

'Merlin,' Teddy muttered.

'I guess this is what that stupid floating fart of a poltergeist meant by being unprepared,' Dorado said sullenly.

Teddy sighed and was about to suggest that they move to the wall and follow it back down the hallway when Joven's voice rang out before them.

'_Lumos_!' he cried softly and suddenly the area around them was filled with light.

'Wow,' Teddy said impressed.

'Wizard!' Dorado declared, 'you can do the lighting spell.'

'Yup,' Joven said cheekily, 'my mum taught me. She said that I might need to know it in case any Snargles…' Joven's voice ran down, 'that is, in case I find my self in a dark place.'

'Oh,' Dorado said looking at the lad speculatively, 'well maybe you can teach it to us.'

'Sure,' Joven said jovially, 'did you see what is behind the door?'

'Couldn't,' Teddy responded, 'it was too dark. But now with the light you have we can.'

'Do you think they will know we are missing?' Dorado asked.

'I don't think so,' Joven said, 'that poltergeist went off into a corridor on the sixth floor, I saw him. I don't think he ratted you out.'

'And it isn't like they do bed checks or anything, our curtains are still closed, the roommates will think we are asleep.'

Teddy frowned at that, he was certain Dorado was underestimating their roommates, but he wanted to see what was in the room. 'Well I doubt anyone of importance will know we are out and look for us.'

Dorado grinned, 'alrighty then, their mistake. Come on Joven.'

Joven looked a bit frightened at the suggestion that he should lead the way, but Teddy moved quickly beside him and guided him forward, placing his hand on the shorter boy's back.

Joven moved slowly into the dark room with Teddy and Dorado on his tail. An incredible amount of heat blasted the boys the moment they walked through the door and they stopped suddenly as it lashed against their faces.

'What is that?' whispered Joven.

'Heat,' Dorado replied immediately in an impertinent whisper.

'Move your wand around a bit so we can see,' commanded Teddy, quite unheeded by the warm wind that had blasted them.

The light only brightened a small circumference around them and it seemed as if they were in an abandoned room.

Teddy began tentatively walking forward, pressing Joven before him and forcing the boy to move. The far wall came upon them so suddenly that they all three jumped. It was as if the room were no wider than a hallway.

'Merlin,' Jovan cried softly.

'Shine your light to the left,' Teddy instructed.

Joven complied and all three boys made a small sound when a staircase was revealed by the light.

'Maybe we should go back to the house,' Joven said softly.

'Back to the house?' Teddy seemed appalled by the idea.

'We just got here, we have to see what is up there,' Dorado said, pointing at the stairwell.

'I dunno,' Joven said tentatively.

But Teddy had already started pressing Jovan's back and propelling him forward. Dorado bravely walked ahead, starting up the stairs. However a second later all three boys stopped dead in their tracks at the sound of a bone-rattling creak from above.

'_Nox_!' whispered Joven and the light at the end of his wand was extinguished.

Teddy, Dorado and Joven stood huddled together for a moment listening in the frightening darkness, their bodies pressed together tightly. However the sound ceased and was not repeated.

'What do you figure that was?' Teddy whispered.

'Sounded like a door creaking open,' Dorado murmured.

'I thought someone was coming,' Joven said in a scared little voice.

'I think it was only a door,' Dorado repeated, 'let's go up and see. Light your wand again Joven.'

But Joven did no such thing, 'I – I think we should go back,' Joven said instead.

'Light your wand, Joven,' Teddy repeated, his tone commanding.

Joven held up his wand with a shaking hand, '_Lumos_,' he whispered frightfully.

Light surrounded the boys again and Joven tried to take a step backward, but Teddy was right behind him and pressed him forward again.

Dorado began to climb the stairs, once again in front, however when he reached the third step, he was suddenly and forcefully thrust backward. He yelped as he fell into his friends and carried them all with him down the few steps they had traversed. They toppled over backward and made a rather noisy landing in a grand heap on the ground below. Joven dropped his wand and the light was extinguished again.

'What in Merlin's beard was that?' Dorado asked no one in particular in a hushed voice.

'It seems like the stairs are protected by a spell or something to keep people out,' Teddy whispered.

'Apparently,' Dorado concurred.

'I dropped my wand,' Joven commented, his voice shaking even more now.

'Let's find it,' said Teddy and he moved to his hands and knees and began searching on the ground for the wand.

'Joven, take my wand and try the spell,' Dorado said, handing the frightened lad his wand.

'Lumos,' Joven cried, and Dorado's wand lit, the light less bright than when Joven had been using his own wand but, enough for Teddy to find Joven's wand. He snatched it up and handed to the lad and Joven returned Dorado's.

'Can we please go back to dorm?' Joven said in a pleading tone.

'Well I don't see how we can get by that protection charm; we have to find a way to bypass it and then come back,' Teddy said with resignation in his tone.

And then they heard it again; the creaking sound from above, only this time there was a series of what sounded to be footsteps moving overhead as well.

'Merrrrrrrrrrrrlin,' Joven cried softly as he ran for the door, 'it's a monster!'

A second later Joven was gone, but Teddy and Dorado stood together in the still shining dim light of Dorado's wand and stared at the staircase.

'What do you think, Nax?'

'I don't think it's a monster,' Dorado answered confidently.

'Well then wh-'

But Teddy never finished, a low urgent sounding growl from above caused the lads to cower together in fright for a moment before both suddenly turned and ran toward the oak door. They whipped it open and flew into the passageway, pulled the door closed behind them, and stood panting with fright.

Joven was still in the hallway, his lit wand before him and his eyes wide, 'I told you! There is a monster up there!'

'You may be right,' Teddy said, his own voice a bit shaky, 'let's go back.'

The three began moving along the passageway at a rapid pace and then almost at a run once they reached the sharp turn in the hallway. They ran to the portrait and Teddy softly cried the password before they tumbled into the common room. The lads felt some relief when they found it deserted.

'Cripes! That was scary,' declared Joven.

Dorado glanced at Joven and then at Teddy, 'what do you think that was?'

Teddy shook his head slowly and shrugged.

'Well I think we should stay away from there; whatever it is, it is likely dangerous, that is why they told us not to go down that hallway.' Joven's voice was growing more steady.

'Oh we'll go back alright,' Dorado said, 'we just need to figure out how to bypass that protective knocking charm, right Boots?'

Teddy nodded and turned from his friends, moving to one of the two large windows along the far wall of the common room. 'Maybe we should ask Peeves what he meant by our being unprepared...before we kill him that is.'

'You blokes are barmy!' declared Joven, 'I'm not going back. Goodnight!' He turned and walked quickly up the stairs.

'What a scaredy-cat,' Dorado said sighing and turning to stare at his friend's back, 'well we'll just have to get him to teach us how to do the wand lighting bit.'

'Yeah, we'll figure it,' Teddy murmured, staring at the sky. It was a lovely evening. The light of the moon lit the trees and grassy areas visible from the window. And there it was again, that beautiful melody.

_The first time he'd heard it, he'd been very young and at the Burrows playing with Bill's daughter, Victoire. Everyone had been outside for an evening campfire dinner and had remained outside afterward to talk and have drinks. The kids had scurried onto the grass to play and that was when Teddy heard the soft, beautiful melody playing for the first time. It almost sounded as if a small chamber orchestra was giving a performance far away and the music was being carried to his ear by the wind._

_He'd looked around and then asked his playmate Victoire if she could hear the music as well. She laughed as if he were teasing and said that she didn't hear any music. _

_Teddy had run to his godfather and asked where the music was coming from. _

_Harry had been celebrating quite a bit and sat drowsy with sleep and a little too much wine in his stomach at the time. He had smiled down at Teddy in a playful way and asked, 'what music, love?'_

'_I hear music, Harry,' Teddy responded._

'_Is it pretty music?' _

'_Yes.' _

'_Then it is coming from your heart.' Harry informed him sleepily._

_Teddy had smiled, climbed up onto his godfather's lap and fallen asleep. _

_Teddy had believed his godfather; he continued to hear the music from time to time and to this day believed that the music somehow reached his ears from his heart. _

'Well we'll have to make a better plan, Boots,' Nax said, breaking into Teddy's thoughts.

Teddy turned from the window, the soft lovely melody still playing from his heart, 'yes we will. We'd better call it a night.'

'You aren't scared too, are you Boots?' Dorado asked noting the far-away look in his friend's eyes.

Teddy shook his head in the negative and his eyes sparked with life again, 'no; I want to know what is at the top of those stairs.'

Dorado smiled, 'me too.'

Teddy grinned as they started up the stairs toward their dormitory bedroom.


	4. The Mysterious Professor

**The Amazing Adventures of Teddy Remus Lupin **

The extraordinary adventures of Nymphadora Tonks and Remus Lupin's son and godson of the famous Harry Potter during his seven year journey through the Hogwarts School of Magic. Adventure, Humor and Romance.

**A/N:** Thank you all for the notes you left! Enjoy the new chapter.

**Note: **JKR is daily releasing more information about all of the characters in the story. This story was based on DH without knowledge of what we would be learning. I am trying to stick to canon and so, where I can, I will include things that JKR is telling us. But some of the plots I have in motion won't allow me to incorporate the new information, so some of this is going to be Jazz's universe! The war in which Harry defeated Voldemort is referred to by the wizard world in this story as the Freedom War.

Disclaimer: All HP characters, situations and entities belong to JK Rowling.

**Chapter Four: The Mysterious Professor **

**--**

Teddy and Dorado had stayed up fairly late discussing what might be hidden at the top of the staircase in the seventh floor attic. Thus it was not surprising that both were sound a sleep by the half-way point through their morning History of Magic class. The ghostly Professor Binns, who taught the subject, didn't seem to notice that his droning voice had lulled two of his students into a blissful, if natural, unconsciousness.

Both lads jerked awake however, when the noise of the students packing up their things signaled the end of the class. Teddy, waking only a couple of seconds before his friend, watched as Dorado's eyes opened.

'Now that,' Teddy said grinning, 'was a great class.'

Dorado laughed and stood to gather his things, 'I hope someone stayed awake or we won't be able to find out our assignments.'

Teddy nodded and followed Dorado from the classroom. The two had walked only a little ways when Dorado suddenly took off at a run.

Teddy's wide eyes followed his exuberant friend and saw Dorado come to a screeching halt before a tall, good-looking, stranger.

'Blaise!' Dorado cried as he shoved his fist out for the older man to clap his own fist on top of it.

'How's Hogwarts treating you Nax?' Blaise asked just as Teddy arrived to stand behind his friend.

'Great, I love it here!' Dorado declared. He turned slightly and signaled Teddy, 'this is my mate, Boots. Boots this is Blaise.'

Teddy shoved a hand out and shook hands, staring up at the man and wondering who he was, 'nice to meet you,' he mumbled.

'Likewise,' Blaise said and then regarded Dorado again, 'your brother told me you were sorted into Gryffindor.'

Dorado smirked, 'yup.'

'Cheeky kid; and as happy as a Hippogriff about it I see. I imagine you thought it highly amusing to get your parents noses all in a twist once more.'

Dorado laughed, 'were they? In my letter they only said that the hat had been struck dumb since the war and for me to make the best of it,' he laughed again, 'it was Draco that seemed to have his nose busted up about it. He told me to ask for a re-sorting.'

Blaise grinned, 'well actually I haven't seen your parents, only Draco. He didn't seem too pleased with the hat's decision though.'

Dorado's eyes sparked with mischief, 'and you? What do you think about it, Blaise?'

'You are a little scoundrel you know that?' Blaise said with mirth in his tone, 'you are just aching to argue about it with someone! Why don't you write Draco a letter.'

'Did already, but he ignored everything I said and just wrote back about Scorpius' first occurrence of incidental magic,' Dorado said sourly.

Blaise laughed, 'well I can't take sides anymore anyway. I am going to be assisting Professor Flitwick from now on.'

'Here at Hogwarts?' Dorado asked delighted.

'Yes. I have a feeling he plans to retire or move into another position soon. In any case, I am going to serve as his apprentice and train for a charms professorship under his tutelage.'

'Whatever all that means,' Dorado said off-handedly, 'but I think it is beyond cool that you are going to be here, Blaise!'

Blaise smiled, 'me too. It is great to see you doing well Nax and if you need anything, pop by my rooms. I have a room in the dungeon next to Slughorn's. I have to go now, I am to meet with Flitwick before his next class.'

Dorado nodded, 'Charms? We have charms coming up soon.'

'Then it is likely your class.' Blaise ruffled his hair, 'be good, see you around,' he looked at Teddy, 'nice meeting you – er – Boots was it?'

Teddy nodded, 'you too,' he responded as he watched Blaise turn and leave. He turned to Dorado, 'how do you know him?'

'He's my brother's friend, but really brilliant. He used to come over all the time when Draco lived at the house and he would always bring me cool stuff.'

Teddy nodded, 'we better go get our charms books,' he reminded Dorado.

Dorado agreed and the two headed back toward Gryffindor. They jogged up the moving staircases and just as they reached the 7th floor platform, Teddy tripped over the final step and fell. Both he and his book bag took a rather nasty fall; he skinned his elbow and the bag broke open, scattering his school supplies about the platform.

'Merlin, Boots,' Dorado said as he knelt to help pick up Teddy's things.

Teddy sat rubbing his elbow, his brow furrowed.

'What caused you trip?' Dorado questioned as he stuffed quills, notebooks and books back into the bag.

'I don't know…nothing...I just tripped,' Teddy said finally letting go of his elbow and moved to gather a few of the items that had landed near the far wall of the corridor.

The sound of approaching footsteps caused both lads to swivel their heads toward the end of the corridor and they saw Professor Passat, their DADA instructor, rounding into view from the restricted corridor.

Dorado and Teddy looked quickly at one another and then back at the Professor as he approached.

'Everything all right?' the professor asked them curiously.

'Yeah,' Teddy responded slowly, 'just dropped my school bag.'

'Ah, well be careful, these corridors can be slippery at times.' The professor smiled and continued down the staircase.

The boys stood a moment staring at the professor's retreating back until he disappeared onto a different level.

'He just came from the restricted corridor!' Dorado said softly.

'I saw. I wonder what he was doing there.'

Dorado scrunched up his eyes a bit, 'well I suppose he could have been-' but Dorado cut himself off directly, his eyes twinkling.

'Could have been what?' Teddy prompted.

'Boots,' Dorado said conspiratorially, 'you don't think…that is, do you think it could be possible that Professor Passat was upstairs last night in that attic room?'

Teddy frowned, 'in the attic room? I don't think so, he would have heard us. He would have come down and made us leave for sure.'

'Would he?' Dorado asked, his voice full of suspicion.

Teddy's frown deepened, he wasn't following his friend's line of reasoning at all, 'I am sure he would have and given us detention besides! Whatever is up there doesn't sound too friendly, remember the growl we heard? I am pretty sure Professor Passat would disapprove of our being there like all the other professors. He would have heard us and come down to tossed us out.'

'Not if it was he who was doing the growling at the time!'

Teddy's eyes flashed with instant understanding, 'you – you think he might be a werewolf?'

Dorado nodded, 'It all fits! We heard a door creaking, footsteps, and a growl! And who do we see coming from the room first thing, but Professor Passat. And have you noticed how pale he looks?'

Teddy nodded slowly, his brow furrowed again, 'but there is a new potion that lets werewolves sleep all night and makes it so it doesn't hurt when they transform. I know because Ginny, that is my godfather's wife, she works with werewolves and she told me about it.'

Dorado shrugged, 'so.'

'So, we heard a growl; whatever it was, it wasn't asleep!'

'Maybe he forgot to take the potion. And I'll tell you something else, last summer my mum was talking about werewolves while reading an article in the Daily Prophet and they are giving werewolves jobs and things now.'

'Yeah I know, Ginny told me.'

'Right, so it isn't like they wouldn't hire him because he is a werewolf. Even my parents and Draco thought it was good and you know how they felt about your father being in the family.'

'They thought it was good?'

'Yup; I still don't think they were too keen about having one in the family because they made sour faces when I reminded them of that at the table, but afterward my father started going on about how the wizard world was changing and couldn't be stopped or something…I don't know, I stopped listening.'

Teddy laughed.

'And another thing…the moon was full last night. Remember Firenze told us in Divination and Perception it would be?'

'No, but I was kind of dozing in and out in that class. Why he has us laying down I'll never know; perfect opportunity to sleep.'

'Well it was full,' Dorado insisted.

'Could have been,' Teddy responded, suddenly recalled looking out of the window and seeing the bright light over the campus; it had certainly been bright enough for the moon to have been full.

Teddy was still unconvinced, but he began thinking about the penetrating and curious glances that the professor had given him. Perhaps the professor knew that his father had been a werewolf and had been looking at him because he was one too….

'Anyway, we can check, let's go look in our Divination and Perception books, there were charts…we can confirm that the moon was full,' Dorado said, his eyes alight with excitement.

Teddy nodded and began thinking that Dorado might have the right of it.

It was no big deal to Teddy really; from his many talks about his father with Harry, he knew except for one night a month werewolves were just wizards. But there was something intriguing about Professor Passat being a werewolf…and teaching DADA…just like his father.

The lads ran eagerly up to their empty dorm room after passing through the portrait and pulled their Divination and Perception books out. The states of the moon and its cycles for the next decade were listed and they easily found the stage it had been in the evening before.

'It was full!' Teddy cried with his eyes lit with animation.

Dorado grinned, 'see I told you! That was no monster! That was Professor Passat!'

Teddy grinned as well, but then his grin began to fade a bit, 'I just remembered something.'

'What?'

'Well my godfather said that near the moon, my father used to get tired and…well, ill. He said that he couldn't teach at the time of the full moon, but Professor Passat taught us yesterday.'

Dorado waived a hand dismissively, 'the new potion; I am sure it allows him to work. Anyway that has to be it, what other reason would he have for being in there?'

'He could have just been checking on whatever is in there,' Teddy suggested.

Dorado shook his head, 'I am sure I am right. However, next full moon we can keep an eye on him. If he goes in there, then we know!'

Teddy rolled his eyes, 'we don't have to wait for the full moon; we can go in there anytime and if we don't hear any noise then we'll know there isn't something else.'

'True,' Dorado agreed. We can check tonight!

Teddy nodded, 'well have to get Joven to teach us the lighting spell.'

'You're right; we'll talk to him at lunch. Meanwhile, we are going to be late for Charms; we'd better get going!' Dorado said stashing his book away and grabbing another.

Teddy and Dorado, together with most of the first years did excellent work in Charms class with Professor Flitwick. He taught them the summoning spell and almost all of them had already perfected it before arriving at Hogwarts. It was almost as if the professor expected it. He was not very enthusiastic as student after student displayed a perfect spell and he awarded no house points to either to the Gryffindors or the Ravenclaws who shared the class.

The few students who couldn't do it, learned quite readily with the help of their friends and Professor Flitwick dismissed the class a tad early, his expression bored.

Teddy and Dorado followed their classmates toward the Great Hall where lunch was already in progress. However, as they were about to leave the corridor, another class let out. It was an older class and they rushed by the lads, trapping them for a moment.

'Second year classes are much more entertaining!' said one excited girl to her friend as she left the room.

Dorado rolled his eyes at Teddy, expressing his regard for second years, but then he became suddenly alert; he was staring ahead and his eyes were fixed on something.

Fixed on _someone_ Teddy discovered. He followed Dorado's eyes and found himself staring at the chubby boy who had jinxed Dorado the day before.

'It's him!' Dorado said.

Teddy would have replied, but the subject of their gaze was approached by another boy at that moment who spoke loudly.

'Wallaby!' cried the tall, thin, red-headed lad that had strolled up to the chubby boy, 'good to see you again Mirk!'

The chubby boy, obviously Mirk Wallaby smirked, 'you too Gidlow, where have you been hiding?'

'Just arrived today; my parents shuffled us all off to Africa for the summer and we just got back. They wanted us to stay and see some dumpy exhibit on wild beasts of nature.'

Wallaby laughed, 'you are a-'

But the boy suddenly stopped speaking and began yelping instead. Dorado, apparently bored with the conversation of the second years, had whipped out his wand and taken the opportunity to seek revenge.

Dorado had called out a jinx aimed at Wallaby and to Teddy's amusement, Wallaby's rump started to grow, becoming enormous within seconds. It stretched out so far that it caused the lad's robe to tear as it pressed outward behind him. The weight of the growth took Wallaby off balance and he fell backward onto the enlarged rump, wiggling around and crying out with discomfort.

Teddy and Dorado started laughing, but their laughter was cut short when two firm hands descended and gripped their shoulders tightly. 'You two come with me,' a stern voice said from behind.

Teddy and Dorado looked around to find a professor they had never seen before regarding them with a severe stare. She signaled them to follow and then went over to the ailing Wallaby.

'We need to get him to Madam Pomfrey immediately,' the professor said.

Wallaby's friend helped the professor carry the lad to the hospital wing, with Teddy and Dorado trialing behind them.

The professor who turned out to be Professor Vector, the Arithmancy teacher, delivered Wallaby into Madam Pomfrey's hands and then immediately came out to stand before Teddy and Dorado, who she had asked to wait just outside of the door.

'We do not allow magic in the hallways of Hogwarts,' the professor declared harshly, 'we also do not approve of students jinxing one another. Which of you is responsible?'

Dorado answered immediately, 'I am'.

'He jinxed Dorado first,' Teddy piped up at once, 'he deserved it!'

'Oh really?' inquired the professor in a tone indicating her displeasure with Teddy's comment. 'Sounds to me as if both of you might learn something from a session of detention. What are your names?'

'Teddy Lupin,' Teddy replied chastened.

'Dorado Malfoy, but he jinxed me first! I had to come to the hospital wing yester-'

'I am not interested in long, convoluted tales of an ongoing chain of jinxing. You've broken two rules and as such you merit double detention. I want you both in my office tonight and tomorrow night at eight o' clock sharp; no excuses!'

'Yes ma'am,' Teddy responded.

'Yes ma'am,' Draco concurred, his eyes still sparking.

'Off with you both!' the professor declared, her expression clouded with disgust.

The lads turned and walked quickly away, not speaking until they rounded the bend in the corridor.

'She didn't even care that fat _Wobbly_ jinxed me first! He should get detention too!' Dorado declared, his ire peaked.

Teddy chuckled, 'still, it was worth it, did you see his rear-end? It was huge!' He broke out in laughter.

Dorado's laughter rang out as well, his anger seemingly fading as they made their way to the Great Hall.

--

That evening, after an hour of detention with Professor Vector during which they sorted the books on the shelves in her office, Teddy and Dorado headed back to the Gryffindor common room. They were eager to return to the restricted corridor and verify their suspicions that it would be barren of any monster.

However, they had had to complete their homework prior to detention and had not had time to have Joven teach them the lighting spell. Thus, they decided that they would have to convince Joven to return with them.

Joven was in the common room studying when they arrived.

'Joven!' Dorado said cheerfully as he and Teddy sat in chairs around the small table where the lad sat studying.

Joven looked up with slight apprehension, 'hi guys,' he replied.

'Almost done with your homework?' Teddy asked.

Joven nodded, 'just going over this last bit to make sure I have it right.'

'Great, because we wanted you to come with us to the restricted corridor tonight,' Dorado declared boldly.

Joven had started shaking his head at the words _come with_, 'I don't want to go out again tonight, you two go ahead without me.'

'Aw Joven, don't be a sad sap! Come with us,' Dorado cajoled.

Joven continued to shake his head, 'we'll get caught…or…or eaten by whatever is up there.'

'We won't get caught,' Teddy said confidently, 'we'll go after curfew and we don't plan to go up the stairs, we just want to go inside and listen.'

'Listen? Listen for what?' Joven asked.

'To see if there is any sound,' Dorado said, his eyes alight with excitement, 'we think that what was up there was no monster, but rather a werewolf!'

'A werewolf?' Joven looked surprised.

Teddy nodded, 'we think that Professor Passat might be a werewolf and that he goes there during the full moon to change into wolf form.'

'So there shouldn't be anything at all in there now, nothing to be afraid of,' Dorado added.

'Professor Passat?' Joven looked incredulous for a moment then skeptical, 'what makes you think he's a werewolf?'

Teddy and Dorado began explaining all of their suspicions to the lad, interrupting each other as they did so.

Joven sat back in his chair when they finished, 'so – so you think there would be nothing there now?'

'Right!' Dorado confirmed.

'Why do you need me to go, you two could just go,' Joven said hesitantly.

'Because we don't know the lighting spell and we want to go after curfew,' Teddy replied honestly.

'Oh,' Joven sat frowning.

'Come on, it will only be for a few minutes; we'll be back here before you know it,' Dorado said eagerly.

'Like we never left,' added Teddy.

Joven sighed heavily, 'well alright, but only for a few minutes and I am not going up those stairs!'

Teddy and Dorado smiled at the lad and then sat talking to one another about Puddlemere United while Joven finished his work.

The three waited until the common room was deserted and curfew had commenced before sneaking out of the common room. Lights out had already occurred, so Joven immediately lit his wand when they alighted from the portrait hole.

They made it to the restricted corridor without incident and then walked to the end of the dark hallway until they were once again before the large oak door. Dorado immediately did the door unlocking spell and they heard the small click indicating that it had worked.

Teddy twisted the handle and pushed the door open, then pressed Joven forward with his lit wand to lead them.

Joven crept forward slowly, despite their prodding, and the other lads followed. This time when they reached the far wall, they merely stood still, not saying a word for a good two minutes. That of course seemed like an inordinate amount of time to the three young boys.

'I don't hear anything,' Teddy said in barely a whisper.

Dorado smirked and then signaled that they should leave and they crept back into the hallway. They closed the door and walked leisurely back toward Gryffindor house.

'See, I told you. No one up there now. That is because there is no full moon and Professor Passat is back in wizard form.'

'Just seems barmy; why would he go in there? Why not just stay in his rooms? Teddy pondered.

Dorado shrugged, 'maybe in case he forgets to take the potion like last night.'

'How could he remember to go to the room, but forget to take the potion?' Teddy inquired sarcastically.

'Who knows,' Dorado shrugged, 'maybe he is allergic to it or maybe he is just super forgetful.'

'Super forgetful?' Teddy chuckled, 'that is just dumb.'

The three reached the common room a few moments later.

'Lionsbeard!' Teddy said and the portrait swung open. They tumbled inside and sat in chairs before the unlit fireplace in the empty common room.

'You know,' Joven said thoughtfully, 'in the Americas there are three people who leak magic and they have to take a potion to hold it in. When they forget to take it, it leaks out and destroys buildings and things. If they can forget, it isn't impossible for Professor Passat to forget now and again? Those wizards were more destructive than werewolves.'

'Huh?' Teddy asked, looking at the boy, 'leak magic?'

Joven nodded, 'they have to take a potion for it and if they forget, a bunch of power leaks from them and things get destroyed. It is kind of the same thing as the werewolves only worse.'

Dorado frowned, 'sounds like you are making that up. What do you know about the Americas anyway?'

'I am not! It is the truth!' Joven retorted, 'my family lived in the Americas for five years and I saw a building that was all demolished because this witch forgot to take her potion! My parents are still there and it was happening when I left to come to Hogwarts. There was just one witch and then another witch and then a wizard! They think it is some kind of infection spreading.'

Teddy grimaced, 'I hope it does not spread over here from the Americas.'

'I think it would be kind of cool,' Dorado mused, 'leak a little magic and woosh! There goes Hogwarts!'

All three laughed.

'You lived in the Americas?' Dorado asked Joven.

'Yup. My mum and father went there to help fight against censoring the news. The newspapers there won't print things they don't like and people like my parents are trying to make them do it.'

'What kind of things won't they print in the Americas?' Dorado asked.

'Oh different things that their Ministry doesn't want to get out. The newspapers get in trouble if they print it and the people like my parents make up fake editions of the newspapers and put them out with the stories. But it is getting dangerous because the people for the newspapers are mad about it. The newspaper people were taking children hostage and weird stuff. They didn't hurt anyone, but they made the parents really scared.'

'Merlin,' Dorado exclaimed.

"That is why my parents sent me here,' Joven said.

'Otherwise you would be in some American Wizard School?' Teddy asked.

'Uh – yeah.' Joven said looking down at his lap.

'Well at least you don't have to worry here,' Teddy said.

Joven nodded, looking up again, 'anyway, the newspapers were trying to keep it quiet about the people leaking magic, but it got out in one of the false editions. They think the infection might be spreading.'

Dorado looked at Joven askance, 'you might have it!'

Joven narrowed his eyes, 'I do not!'

Dorado looked unconvinced.

'How could he have it Nax? He still has his magic and he is not leaking,' Teddy pointed out.

'Well he might leak yet!' Dorado declared.

'I am not leaking!' Joven said angrily, 'my mum took me to be checked before they sent me!'

'We should nickname you leaky,' Dorado said grinning.

'Shut up, Nax,' Teddy admonished.

Joven looked daggers at Dorado.

'You do need a nickname though,' Dorado advised Joven, undaunted.

'Like Nax and Boots?'

'Right, if you are going to be our friend you have to have one,' Dorado confirmed.

'Well I wouldn't mind being friends,' Joven said, 'but that doesn't mean I want to go snooping around. I don't want to get in trouble. I saw you two jinx someone and then that professor carried you off.'

Teddy and Dorado laughed.

'Yeah, we just got detention for a couple of nights, no big deal,' Dorado said when their laughter died.

'It is to me,' Joven said solemnly, 'I don't want to get in trouble.'

'Um, you are a scaredy-cat, maybe we should nickname you Cat,' Dorado murmured.

'I am not! I just – I just don't want to, you know, worry my parents or anything because they are already worried about everything being far away and stuff.'

'Yeah,' Teddy said, his tone understanding, 'well it isn't like we run around jinxing people; that fat rat jinxed Nax first you know.'

'Oh,' Joven replied, his tone equally understanding.

Dorado looked at Joven, 'what's your middle name?'

'Don't have one.'

Dorado pursed his lips, 'I don't suppose you can think up a nickname for yourself?'

Joven frowned, 'well, sometimes my parents call me Jojo.'

'Jojo,' Dorado mused slowly, testing it out, 'well that isn't too bad, kind of sounds like a baby name, but then again you aren't the bravest fellow I've ever met, so it kind of fits.'

Joven narrowed his eyes, 'I am very brave. I just don't want to worry my parents!'

'Lay off of him, Nax,' Teddy said then, 'Jojo is a great nickname and it doesn't sound babyish at all.'

Joven aimed a crooked smile at Teddy.

Dorado rolled his eyes, 'whatever, Jojo will do.' He tapped his fingers on the table, 'so now we know Professor Passat is a werewolf.'

'It is no big deal,' Joven said, 'my mum and father had a teacher who was one when they were young too.'

Teddy and Dorado stared at their new friend.

'It's true!' Joven declared instantly.

'I believe you,' Teddy responded quickly, 'it is just that my father was a werewolf and he taught DADA here at Hogwarts for a year before he died.'

'Oh!' Joven declared, 'well my parents were at Hogwarts and so they probably meant your father!' He furrowed his brow a little, 'sorry about your father.'

'S'okay, he died during the Freedom War when I was a baby,' Teddy replied, 'your parents probably went to school with my godfather and Nax's brother; my father taught them too.'

Joven shrugged, 'probably.'

'That reminds me,' Dorado said, his eyes gleaming, 'Quidditch tryouts are tomorrow!'

Teddy met his friend's eyes with a frown, 'what time?'

'Five o' clock I think.'

'Whew,' Teddy murmured sitting back, 'we've detention at eight and I would have been bummed if we'd of had to miss out.'

Dorado nodded, 'you going to try out Joven – er – Jojo?'

'No, maybe next year,' Joven responded.

Dorado rolled his eyes, 'why not? Don't tell me you are scared.'

'Of course not!' Joven responded heatedly, 'stop saying I am scared of everything!'

'He's right Nax, just because he doesn't want to play doesn't mean he is scared,' Teddy said calmly.

Dorado shrugged, 'why not then?'

'I – I…promised my parents I would wait until next year, that's all.'

'Why?' Dorado pressed.

Joven flushed, 'I just did that's all.'

'It doesn't matter,' Teddy interjected, seeing Joven was becoming very uncomfortable for some reason, 'there is only one spot open this year anyway; Nax and I probably won't make it either.'

'I'm planning to get that spot!' Dorado declared.

Teddy rolled his eyes, 'you do that.'

Dorado grinned and Joven stood up.

'I'm going to bed,' Joven announced.

'I'll come up too, I want to write my godfather and Gran before I go to sleep,' Teddy concurred, 'that dumb professor might write and tell them about our detention. I want to tell them our side first!'

Dorado laughed, 'me too.'

The three hopped up and raced upstairs, for no particular reason other than the natural exuberance often displayed by lads their age.

--

Harry and Hermione had just reached their workroom in the rear of Harry's home when he turned to her with a rather cheeky smile, 'got another letter from Teddy,' he remarked.

'Oh!' Hermione replied, 'he writes as often as he promised.'

Harry nodded, 'want to hear it?'

Hermione laughed; Harry obviously wanted to read it to her. 'Of course,' she responded.

Harry pulled the note from his pocket and began to read, 'Dear Harry and Ginny, thank you for the two boxes! I am sharing the pasties and things with my friends and now I have another friend so there are three of us. We are eating them very fast and I don't think they will last very long, but I wanted to share like you told me to do.'

Hermione burst out laughing, 'well that was subtle.'

'I call it the fine art of wheedling,' Harry responded chuckling himself.

He continued to read, 'I am happy you will come to visit me, I miss you a lot and also I can show you my transfiguration essay, I got top marks. Tomorrow I tryout for Quidditch but there is only one spot so I don't know if I will make the team. My friend is trying out too, so maybe one of us will make it.'

Harry looked up, 'only one spot, they will probably have to wait a year or two.'

Hermione nodded, 'they'll be disappointed.'

'Yeah,' Harry agreed, 'anyway that was a rush of good news he put first, listen to the rest. Harry looked down and continued, 'There is a second year boy here and he jinxed my friend and my friend had to jinx him back. I got detention, but I didn't do anything, I was just standing there. But since Nax is my friend I tried to tell the professor what happened and she gave us both detention. I just wanted you to know in case you hear about it and you will know it wasn't my fault and I was innocent.'

Hermione burst out with laughter again and Harry joined her.

'Gods,' Harry said, his voice broken with mirth, 'innocent he says! I told him that he should get a professor if that happens again instead of jinxing back, but something tells me he won't take that advice.'

'You and Ron never did,' Hermione said wisely.

'I remember you throwing a few jinxes yourself,' Harry accused.

'Well it is normal.'

'To tell you the truth, Teddy and his friend I believe are going to get up to a bit of mischief. I just see it in him…another Fred and George in the making.'

'Well his father was a Marauder, don't forget.'

'I remember that very well,' Harry mused smiling, and I suppose he has another friend now so it looks like they may be getting up a little gang of Marauders. He looked at the note and continued, 'I miss you all very much and I hope to see you soon and please send more boxes so I can keep sharing like you said I should do with my friends. Love, Teddy.'

Hermione began laughing again, 'I guess he felt the first bit was too subtle; he wants to make sure you understand he needs more treats. You will have to tell him that sharing applies to everything, not just pasties.'

Harry smiled, 'he knows that; he just wanted more treats. I sent more this morning and I told him that he didn't have to ask because I intended to keep sending the boxes. I recall treats being one of the highlights of my youth.'

'Well your situation was different.'

'True, but keeping him in sweets won't hurt.'

Hermione smiled shaking her head, then changed the subject, 'you know Ron was really upset with the station manager this morning when he left. They had an argument yesterday and he was threatening to quit and go work with George.

'Really?' Harry asked, looking suddenly evasive.

Hermione nodded, 'frankly I think he is getting bored with his job. You know how often he has been talking to George about the store. And since you have helped George expand, he needs someone else to help out with things.'

Harry nodded, 'yeah,' he responded in a rather subdued tone.

'Harry,' Hermione said carefully, 'Ginny told me you have been talking about Auror work lately. If you are interested in pursuing Auror work, don't let our work here hold you back.'

Harry smiled wryly, 'to be honest, the idea was always fascinating and well, Kingsley has been asking me what I would think about heading up the Auror department.'

'You should do it,' Hermione declared.

'I love doing our work too,' Harry replied.

'I know. You can still do both, this would just have to be a secondary effort.'

'Maybe I will. We'll see.

'The thing is…well I have been thinking along the same lines.'

Harry looked at her surprised.

'Well you remember my devotion to SPEW. I didn't get very far with it after the war, and well, Ginny's office is so overburdened with the work for werewolves, vampires and giants, that house elves and goblins are still being ignored to some extent. I really would like to help.'

'Working the Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures?'

Hermione nodded.

Harry laughed, 'so we will end up abandoning our work?'

'No, but I suppose it could take a bit of a back seat for a while.'

'Do you think we should, Hermione?' he asked softly, 'what we are doing is important.'

She smiled, 'yes, I do. I am excited about venturing out and running amuck in the Ministry and you are too. We can still pursue our work here from time to time.'

Harry nodded.

Hermione laughed, 'wait until Ron and Ginny come; they will be shocked to find out we have both decided on pursuing new careers!'

Harry nodded and began laughing as well.

--

At lunch the next day, Teddy received his sweets together with a letter promising that Harry and Ginny would arrive the next week for a visit. Dorado and Joven hadn't received any mail, but were delighted to share Teddy's treats with him.

They attended their final class after lunch which was DADA and spent the entire time looking closely at their professor. Professor Passat was pale as usual, but they couldn't find any other sign indicating that he might be a werewolf. They left what had turned out to be another interesting and fun class somewhat disappointed to have gotten no further with their theory about the professor.

They returned to their common room and sat on one of the couches next to a large window.

'We've two hours before Quidditch tryouts,' Dorado said in a bored tone, 'we should do something.'

'Homework probably, considering we have detention after that,' Teddy said wryly.

Dorado grumbled, 'I don't feel like doing homework just yet. We don't have all that much assigned and we can get it done easily after detention.'

Teddy nodded.

'Let's go to the forbidden forest!' Dorado declared suddenly.

'We are not allowed to go to the forest,' Joven declared immediately.

'We weren't allowed in the restricted corridor either, but that didn't stop us,' Teddy pointed out.

'We have a right to know what is happening at our school; they shouldn't keep secrets from us! Just like you were saying last night about how the wizards in America should know about the leaking magic infection.'

'It's not the same thing,' Joven contested.

'Don't you want to be friends with us, Jojo?' Dorado cajoled in a pleading tone.

'Yes,' Joven replied looking perturbed, 'but I really don't want to get in trouble.'

'We won't get in trouble. We'll just have a peek inside and come right out again,' Teddy declared.

Joven never did verbally agree, but he ended up following Dorado and Teddy as they left the common room and made their way outside of the castle, walking rapidly toward the forbidden forest.

'Hagrid's hut is just up ahead,' commented Teddy as they reached the entrance to the forest, 'my godfather told me that he invited me to come over and have tea while I am here at Hogwarts. We should go one day; he has all kinds of cool creatures and things at his hut.'

Dorado, obviously still had great reservations about Hagrid and he nodded in a non-committal fashion.

'My parents told me about Hagrid and his creatures,' Joven said, 'sounds really cool.' He frowned a moment later, 'although I don't know if we want to visit him, he did set Nax on fire in the boat.'

Teddy laughed, 'yeah, he isn't so good with magic, but he is a really nice fellow. We just have to make sure to get out of his way if he starts shooting off spells.'

They stopped speaking once they entered the forest and began cautiously making their way along the small, dirt pathway. The pathway was fairly clear of debris near the entrance and they quickly made it a good distance inside the trail became less distinct. It became more difficult to see the further they went due to the tighter clustering of tree branches overhead obscuring the sunlight.

'We should go back now,' Joven said in a soft tone, 'I can barely see anymore.'

'Light your wand,' Dorado suggested, then continued speaking while Joven moved to take out his wand. 'I don't know why they told us not to come here,' he declared, 'there is nothing here but a bunch of trees and bushes.'

The moment the words left Dorado's mouth, he was proven wrong. The boys suddenly cowered as the sound of a mad rush of hoof beats reached their ears.

'What in the-' began Dorado, but stopped abruptly as the sound grew louder; it was as if a hundred horses were nearly upon them.

'Run!' Teddy cried.

All three lads took off at once; Joven running into the trees and Teddy and Dorado running deeper into the forest along the now disappearing trail. Teddy's heart started to pound as the sound behind them grew louder and the ground beneath his feet began to shake; it appeared that whatever was behind them was gaining on them with great speed.

Suddenly what appeared to be ten or twelve Centaurs were at their backs, galloping fast and hard. Teddy leapt sideways, out of the way of the oncoming herd, and yelped as he crashed into a small thick bush with thorny leaves. A moment a later he landed with a thud against the hard surface of the forest ground, his back pressing painfully into his school bag.

The Centaurs hadn't stopped and he heard their hoof beats fading off into the distance as he arose from the ground and dusted off his robe.

'Nax?' he called.

'Over here,' Dorado responded from the other side of the path they had been walking along.

'Jojo?' Dorado called.

There was no response and Teddy walked immediately toward the sound of his friend's voice. 'Jojo!' he called as he joined Dorado's side.

When there was still no response, the two started walking back along the path a ways, calling out their friend's name every so often.

'Where can he have gone?' Teddy asked worriedly.

'Maybe he fell when jumping out of the way of those Centaurs,' Dorado responded. 'Jojo?' he called again.

Teddy and Dorado began looking frantically around for their friend; behind bushes and along the pathway, but they couldn't find him anywhere.

'Gods,' Dorado murmured, 'I hope he isn't laying hurt somewhere.'

Teddy hadn't wanted to voice that particular fear and his heart began pounding again, but this time in fright for his friend. 'Let's look a little further into the forest on either side of the pathway,' he suggested, 'you take this side and I'll go look on the other side.'

'All right,' Dorado agreed. He pulled out his wand, '_Lumos!'_ he cried, jerking the wand, but nothing happened.

Teddy gave the wand lighting spell a try as well, but with no success. 'Well we just have to check and…feel our way around. Let's meet back here.'

'All right,' Dorado said, moving off to search for their friend.

Teddy had just made it across the path when he heard the sound of approaching hoof beats once again. Teddy looked around in fright and saw the Centaurs headed back their way. He ran backwards to get out of their path and fell hard onto the ground, his cry lost in the loud rushing sound of the passing Centaurs. Blind spots were swimming before his eyes as he struggled to his feet once more.

Teddy looked across the pathway, 'Nax, you all right?' he called. However, there was no reply. Teddy felt a wave of fear make its way through his body again, now he'd lost both of them!

'Nax!' Teddy cried, 'Nax! He ran quickly to where he'd last seen his friend but Dorado was no where to be found. He searched the ground shoving bushes aside, thinking maybe he'd fallen, but there was no sign of Dorado anywhere.

Teddy's heart was pounding in his ears as fear began scorching his chest. He regretted their decision to come to the forest; it had been a terrible mistake. He flew around the small bushes dotting the forest and again tried lighting his wand against the darkness without success.

Then he heard the sound of hooves again, racing somewhere behind him and he cowered against on of the bushes. They didn't seem to be headed in his direction, but the horrible thought struck him that Nax might be laying somewhere having been trampled by the Centaurs. He had no idea what to do, but he knew he had to do something.

When the far off sound of hooves ceased once again, he crept from behind the bush and tried to see through the darkness, but the dark outline of the trees was all that met his eyes.

'Nax!' he cried again and ran back to stumble around the area where he'd last seen his friend. His foot splashed into a puddle and he felt liquid spatter onto his robes and his pant leg.

'Nax,' he cried desperately, pulling his foot from the mucky hole, 'Jojo?'

_Crash! _

Teddy jumped at the sound; it was extremely loud and the earth shook a bit wildly beneath him. It sounded as if a very large tree had fallen nearby, but he could see nothing.

'Jojo! Nax!' he called again, a little louder and with more urgency.

He started moving again in the darkness and immediately tripped over a branch, falling flat on his face and feeling as if all the breath had been sucked from his body. Frustration mingled with fear as he lay trying to recapture his breath and he felt himself becoming slightly over-wrought. When he finally recovered enough to stand, he took a few deep breaths to calm his nerves and began walking with determination toward the forest entrance. Despite the fact that they would get in a ton of trouble, he knew he had to go back and get help.

He began walking rapidly and every few steps he called out the names of his friends. Teddy stumbled almost constantly over the low brush and branches along the pathway, still unable to see clearly, but he managed to keep his balance.

He pressed onward through the darkness and after being struck by the sharp edge of a low hanging branch, he slowed his steps a little. After a while he noticed that his surroundings were growing lighter and realized he must be nearing the entrance.

'Nax, Jojo,' he called softly.

A noise in the bushes ahead, just a small a crackling of leaves sent Teddy crouching at the edge of the pathway. He pulled his wand, his eyes wide and tried to make out what was coming his way in the semi-darkness. More crunching of leaves drawing ever nearer and an icy wave of heat passed through Teddy's torso.

He began hopelessly trying to recall the jinxes Dorado had taught him, but his mind was in a whirl of confusion propelled by intense fright. The spells had become nothing more than a series of jumbled syllables in his mind.

The crunching grew louder and Teddy crouched lower, now trembling as he waited. Suddenly, a dark shadow passed over him and he flinched and lost his balance. He fell backward out of his hiding place and fell flat on his back onto the pathway. He heard a startled hiss above him and saw a figure jump backward as he looked up with anxiety in his eyes.

'Jojo!' he cried as he recognized his friend in the dim light. Relief poured over Teddy like a soothing balm and in the next moment was struggling up again.

'Boots!' the young boy exclaimed, clearly as relieved to recognize his friend as Teddy had been. 'Where's Nax?' he asked, his voice still sounding frightened.

'I don't know,' Teddy replied as he stood and grabbed his friend's arm. 'We were looking for you and we separated, then there were centaurs, like Firenze, millions of them and they passed between us and he was gone! I heard them again after that, but no sign of Nax.'

'D-Do you think…th-they took him?' Joven asked, his voice frantic with worry.

'I – I don't think so…I hope not.' What Teddy really hoped was that Nax wasn't lying on the ground somewhere having been trampled underfoot. 'I looked for him, but I can't find him. I was going back to the castle to get help.'

Joven nodded worriedly, 'g-good idea. I – I lost my wand!'

'You what?'

'I dropped it when I fell; I ran into the forest and I tripped and my wand flew. I tried to find it, but I couldn't and then I got lost.' Joven sounded as if he was going to start crying any moment.

'Are you all right?' Teddy asked worriedly.

'Y-yes,' Jojo responded shakily.

'Come on, let's go get help; the Headmistress will find Nax,' Teddy said with more bravado than he actually felt.

The two started off again, now able to see a bit more due to the light filtering in, but that did not stop them from tripping over unseen branches and rabble that lay in the forest. Soon more light began filtering into the trees and the way became clearer, so the boys began moving faster, attempting to get out of the forest as quickly as possible.

The sound of wildly crashing bushes ahead caused the lads to stop the boys in their tracks. Joven instinctively reached out and grabbed Teddy's arm, his hand trembling furiously and the clutch of his grip painful.

Teddy moved closer to his friend and pulled them both into a crouch behind a nearby bush. The movement sounded too fierce to be Nax walking toward them. He prayed whatever creature had found their way into the forest wouldn't notice their presence and simply pass by them.

Suddenly, the bushes they were crouching behind were ripped apart revealing the tall figure of a man.

Both boys cried out in fear as the bushes parted and then fell silent as they recognized Professor Passat standing over them.

'Professor!' Teddy said hopping up and bringing Joven with him.

'Teddy, Joven,' Passat said urgently, 'what are you doing here? You shouldn't be here!'

'I know,' Teddy said, his voice breathless, 'we can't find Na-Dorado!'

'What?' Passat's penetrating gaze filled with something akin to fear and that scared Teddy even more.

'We were together and then we got separated and now we can't find him!'

Passat stood a moment, looking at the forest over their heads and then his eyes fell on Teddy again, 'follow me,' he commanded.

Professor Passat turned quickly and led the lads toward the forest exit.

'What about Dorado?' Teddy asked, half jogging to keep up with the rapidly walking professor.

'I'll find Dorado,' the professor declared, 'I have to get you two out of here first though, it is not safe.'

'Then it is not safe for him either,' Teddy said, unable to keep the whine out of his tone.

'I know, I know,' Passat said worriedly.

When they reached the exit Professor Passat turned and glared at them, 'go back to the castle immediately. I will go back for Dorado right now.'

'I – I lost my wand in there too,' Joven murmured shakily.

Professor Passat frowned, 'go back to the castle,' he repeated and turned to re-enter the forest.

The lads saw Passat's wand light up as he moved quickly into the trees and out of view.

Despite the professor's instruction, Teddy and Joven didn't move. They stood waiting, straining to hear any sound that might indicate that the professor had found their friend.

Teddy looked down and noticed that his pants and the bottom of his robe were covered in red blotches. His stomach lurched at the sight and he became frantic with worry. It looked like blood and if it were Dorado's blood….

Teddy looked up and saw that Joven had been staring at his robe as well and tears were running down the lad's face.

Joven quickly swiped a hand about his cheeks, as if he didn't wish to be caught crying by his friend, 'we shouldn't have come,' he groaned.

'Well it's too late to think about that,' Teddy remarked, worry running through his tone, 'I just hope Professor Passat can find Nax.'

'I hope he is all right,' Joven added.

Teddy looked at his slightly shorter friend and realized that Joven was trembling from head to toe. 'He'll be all right,' Teddy said in a calming tone, all the while desperately hoping he was right.

They stood in silence then, the only sound the whisper of the wind through the trees and their feet kicking about the ground as they waited with mounting fear for the professor to reappear.

The sun struck the tips of the forest trees and shadows began to fall about them. Teddy felt like they had waited hours though it had actually only been about ten minutes.

'You don't figure there is another exit, do you? I mean, maybe Professor Passat found Dorado and took him out another way,' Teddy said.

Joven looked up hopefully, 'it is possible, maybe we should-'

But the lad broke off as the sound of footsteps approaching reached their ears. The steps were coming from the forest! Within seconds the sight of Professor Passat's tall frame met their eyes and Dorado was walking beside him!

'Nax!' Teddy cried, running forward toward his friend with Joven on his heels.

Dorado grinned at his friends, his hair sticking out at odd angles from his head and his face and robes splotched with mud.

'I thought I told you boys to return to the castle,' Professor Passat said in a stern tone before they could question their friend about what had happened.

Teddy met the professor's eyes, 'we were worried about Nax – Dorado,' Teddy advised him.

'I'm fine now,' Dorado interjected.

'For the love of Merlin,' Professor Passat exclaimed in an exasperated tone, 'you two should have returned to the castle, I don't like it that you didn't obey me. I understand you were worried about your friend, but that is no excuse for remaining here when I explicitly asked you not to do so.'

'Sorry,' Joven said softly.

'Yeah, sorry,' Teddy added sincerely, 'we were just really worried.'

The professor handed Joven his wand.

'Thank you, sir,' Joven said, a ghost of a smile crossing his lips as he stored his wand in his robes.

Professor Passat frowned, 'well I found your friend lying on the ground and I had to revive him. You were all three very lucky today.' He began walking, 'come along, I want Dorado to see Madam Pomfrey at once and you two need to get back inside.'

'I don't need to see Madam Pomfrey, I feel fine,' Dorado complained as the lads followed the professor toward the school.

'Well I am not so confident in my reviving and healing spells as you seem to be, Dorado. You seem fine, but I would prefer it if you dropped by to see her just in case.'

'All right,' Dorado said, his tone defeated.

'I am going to have to give all three of you detention for this; you must not go into areas about the castle that the headmistress has forbidden, it can be very dangerous.'

When the boys did not respond, the professor continued, 'I want you all to come to my office tonight at eight-thirty.'

'We can't,' Teddy said sullenly.

Professor Passat turned and looked at him, his brows raised in question as they walked.

'We already have detention with Professor Vector at eight for an hour.'

Something akin to amusement passed over their professor's face for a moment, 'I see. Well I will let that serve as detention for this affair as well. But I am serious when I tell you to never go into the forest again, is that understood?'

'Yes Sir,' Teddy and Joven said together.

'We won't, Sir' Dorado added.

'Very well,' the professor said quietly in response. They walked the rest of the way in silence until they reached the castle.

'What is that on your robe?' the professor asked, looking at Teddy as they entered the main hall.

'I don't know; I stepped in something in the forest, a puddle of something.'

The professor frowned and then immediately told Joven and Teddy to accompany Dorado to the hospital wing. He then rapidly turned and sped back outside the castle doors.

'Off to the hospital wing again,' Teddy said sourly.

'I'm not going to any hospital wing,' Dorado declared, 'I feel fine. Did you see how fast the professor went out again when he saw your robe? I think he might have returned to the forest again. That looks like blood,' he said pointing to the deep red drying blotches on Teddy's robe, 'do you figure someone else was in the forest too and got killed?'

Teddy looked abhorred at the thought, 'I hope not. I didn't see anyone else. What happened to you? I looked all over for you and I couldn't find you.'

'I got dragged into the forest a bit by one of the Centaurs as they passed; he didn't even seem to notice I was attached. I hit my head on a tree when I finally managed to get free of him and it knocked me out. When I came too Professor Passat was kneeling over me doing some spell.'

'Merlin, Nax, you had to have been out a while. Maybe you should go see Madam Pomfrey' Teddy cried.

Dorado shrugged, 'I'm all right. The professor did a healing spell, but I felt all right anyway once I woke up, except for a headache. His spell took that away and now I am fine.'

Joven still looked rather frightened by the whole episode, 'I told you guys we should not have gone in there.'

'Well you were right,' Dorado agreed, 'at least you didn't get detention out of it. Professor Passat seemed to think you had detention with us tonight.'

Joven nodded, not looking quite as happy about it as he should, 'I was going to mention that to him.'

'Are you barmy?' Teddy declared, 'just count your blessings and be happy he didn't realize you won't be suffering!'

Dorado laughed and Joven's lips stretched into a wane smile.

Dorado frowned, 'what was Professor Passat doing in the forest in the first place?' he mused allowed.

Teddy shrugged, 'I don't know, but I am glad he came along when he did.'

Several students rushed by them then with brooms in hand and Teddy looked at Dorado, 'Quidditch tryouts! What time is it?'

They all turned to look at the great clock that hung above the Great Hall.

'Gods! Five minutes! Let's hurry and get changed!'

The boys raced upstairs and into their house and out again, running as fast as they could to the Quidditch pitch and arriving five minutes late. There was a sizeable crowd of students waiting to try out, so their tardiness went unnoticed.

Joven stood with them, but he didn't try out, although both Dorado and Teddy flew before the Gryffindor captain showing off their skills. The trials took almost two hours due to the great number of people trying out and a good number of elimination rounds.

However, the lad's didn't mind as they kept making it into the remaining groups.

Both Teddy and Dorado made the final cut down to a group of ten and were told that they showed great promise. However, they were eliminated with six others in the final cut and left while the captain stood deciding over two older boys for the available spot.

They were both highly disappointed not to have made the team, despite knowing ahead of time that they only had a slim chance. The lads walked slowly back toward the castle with their friend, silent and morose.

'You guys flew really well,' Joven said consolingly, 'too bad you didn't make it. But you will make it next year for sure; they said three spots would open.'

Teddy and Dorado nodded in response, but didn't reply. They were both too busy wallowing in misery.

They moved into the castle and entered the Great Hall for dinner. The meal was a rather depressed affair with Joven doing most of the talking.

As they left the Great Hall Dorado looked at his friends and sighed, 'well this was a horrible day,' he commented, his tone awash with frustration, 'nothing seemed to go right.'

Teddy looked at his friend, 'well this outta cheer you up; we have five minutes to get to detention.'


	5. Just Between Friends

**The Amazing Adventures of Teddy Remus Lupin **

The extraordinary adventures of Nymphadora Tonks and Remus Lupin's son and godson of the famous Harry Potter during his seven year journey through the Hogwarts School of Magic. Adventure, Humor and Romance.

Disclaimer: All HP characters, situations and entities belong to JK Rowling.

**Chapter Five: Just Between Friends**

**--**

The day after their excursion in the forest, Teddy arose early and pulled his boots from beside the bed to give them a cleaning. The rust colored, dry splotches covering them made him once again consider if the puddle he'd stepped in while in the forest might have been blood. It made him slightly ill to think that someone or some creature had died and left the puddle behind.

The curtains shrouding Teddy and Dorado's beds were always left open, so that they could talk to one another until they fell asleep. Teddy noted that his friend was still in a state of slumber, his lashes resting against his cheeks and his fist curled under his face against the pillow.

Teddy slipped from his bed and moved to Dorado's, ruthlessly pulling the pillow from beneath the head of his sleeping friend.

Dorado popped awake and then edged upward, his sleepy eyes angrily regarding his laughing friend.

'What'd you do that for?' he asked, his tone, groggy yet incensed.

Teddy's laughter retreated into a smile, 'what do you think that puddle we saw in the forest was?'

Dorado fell back against his bed and Teddy threw the pillow at him.

Dorado grabbed the pillow and tossed it viciously back at his friend, 'what time is it?' he asked, his tone molested.

'Seven fifteen,' Teddy replied tossing the pillow back mildly.

'Gods! And you woke me up? What's the matter with you?' he grumbled while turning onto his stomach, 'we don't have classes till nine and breakfast isn't until eight! Have you gone barmy?' Dorado pulled the pillow over his head.

'I was thinking about the puddle in the forest,' Teddy responded ignoring Dorado's rant, 'what if someone did die…or one of the creatures that lives there. Do you think it might have something to do with the Centaurs running about so furiously?'

Dorado pulled the pillow away and turned his head to face Teddy, 'Boots,' he said in a deadpan voice, 'I don't care if every creature in the whole forest died. I'm going back to sleep.'

'But it might have something to do with Professor Passat being there and you know, something to do with his being a werewolf.'

Dorado flipped over onto his back and looked at Teddy with a pragmatic stare, 'Passat is not a wolf during the day; he didn't kill anyone in the forest, you plonker.'

'I know that,' Teddy said dismissively, 'I just think it was odd his being there and everything going on and the puddle…'

Dorado sighed, 'for all we know the Centaurs run mad on a daily basis, trampling small animals and killing creatures left and right.'

'It was a rather large pool of – blood or whatever it was that I stepped in.'

Dorado glanced at Teddy's boots, 'I hope you can get that off or your father's cool boots will be ruined forever.'

Teddy looked down at the boots and then stood to grab a towel from the desk between their beds. He sat down and started rubbing the boots, but the splotches wouldn't come off.

Dorado sighed again and struggled up from the bed, 'wait, I have a solution you can use.'

Dorado pulled a vial from his trunk and handed it to Teddy. When Teddy used the solution on his boots they turned sparkling clean once more.

Teddy smiled up at his friend, 'thanks.'

Dorado fell back on his bed, 'if you are really thankful, you'll let me sleep.'

Teddy laughed. He looked hopefully at Joven's bed, but the curtains were tightly closed.

The week seemed to zip by rapidly and Teddy found that he was overburdened with homework. Dorado and he continued to split the work when possible, but it seemed to take them longer and longer to get the work assigned completed each night.

They had continued to watch and speculate about Professor Passat and contemplated what a werewolf might be doing in the forest during the daytime. They noticed that the day following their excursion in the forest, the professor had come to class with a small scar marring his face just beneath the cheek bone.

The sight fueled their discussion and they came up with a myriad of possible ways the professor might have received it. Most of those reasons they connected with the puddle of what they finally decided after much discussion must have been blood. They imagined their werewolf professor dueling with Centaurs, rescuing Unicorns, defeating Dragons and battling with Hippogriffs in defense of whatever had been killed. It mattered not that they were unsure if the latter three creatures even roamed the forest.

On the final day of the week, the school posted an announcement that the first of two trips to Hogsmeade was on the horizon for the students. First years were permitted to venture to Hogsmeade, however, only if their parents or guardians had signed permissions slips. Most students already had the signed slips on file and those who didn't quickly ran to the owlery to send messages home so they could receive the slips in time.

Teddy and Dorado had their permission slips in effect from day one, but were dismayed to find out that Joven did not have one. They had just seated themselves in the common room and excitedly began discussing the upcoming trip when Joven informed them of the bad news.

'Our first stop has to be Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour! They have opened a shop in Hogsmeade just like the one in Diagon Alley and they have the best ice cream ever!' Dorado exclaimed.

'Yeah!' Teddy agreed

'I can't go to Hogsmeade,' Joven said remorsefully.

Teddy and Dorado had been so animated about the trip they hadn't noticed that their friend had been acting rather depressed since they'd seen the Hogsmeade notice.

'Why not?' Dorado asked.

'I – I don't – that is, I wasn't given permission by my parents to go.'

'Your parents won't sign the permission slip? Why not?' Dorado seemed to find this an outrage on the part of Joven's parents.

Joven frowned, 'well they will, just not this year.'

Dorado shook his head as if he were trying to throw the memory of Joven's statement from his head, 'they will give you permission next year, but not this year? Did they tell you why?'

Joven flushed and looked helplessly at Teddy who had so far remained quiet.

'Do they not want you to have treats?' Teddy tried.

Joven opened his mouth and closed it again, his eyes shifted a bit and then he looked at his lap, 'I guess, yes, they – well they send me treats and those are the treats I can have.'

'I don't get it,' Dorado exclaimed, 'they send you treats, but don't want you to buy any? They don't send you ice cream; how are you supposed to get ice cream if you don't go to Hogsmeade? You have to go, Jojo!'

'Well I will go…next year.'

'Next year, next year,' Dorado mimicked, 'everything is next year with you; Quidditch, Hogsmeade…it's like your parents think you are a baby still. Don't they realize that when you come to Hogwarts it means you are ready to do all of this stuff on your own?'

'I know,' Joven said mournfully, 'I – I just can't.'

'Is it the money?' Dorado asked frowning, 'because I have lots of money and I will give you some to buy whatever you want.'

Joven met Dorado's eyes, 'no, I have money, that isn't it…it is just that…well I can't.'

'Well it doesn't matter,' Teddy said noting his friend's growing discomfort, 'we'll bring you treats back from Hogsmeade.'

'If my parents wouldn't sign the permission slip, I would fake one!' Dorado said arrogantly.

Teddy's eyes lit up, 'we could do it you know Jojo; we can make a note and sign your parents names and you can say they sent it to you!'

Joven looked at Teddy, his expression holding a bit of terror, 'no…no we can't do that. The Headmistress would know it was fake and I'd – we'd get in trouble!'

'How would she know it was fake?' Dorado inquired, his tone exasperated.

'She – she just would, that's all.'

'You are just being a scaredy-cat again. Of course she won't know and you could go with us and get treats,' Dorado's tone held confidence.

Joven looked mulish, 'think what you want. I am not scared! She will know it is a fake no matter how good we made it; even if we made it in my father's handwriting she would know!'

Teddy frowned, 'what makes you so sure of that, Jojo?'

Joven flushed again, 'because, she already knows I am not supposed to go.'

'Your parents are really strict,' Dorado mused.

'No they aren't! My parents are the greatest! They let me do all kinds of things in the Americas; things that usually only older boys get to do. I rode on a bull once!'

Teddy turned animated eyes to his friend, 'you did?'

Joven smiled, 'yup! Not a full grown one, but it was cool; we went to a place called Bolivia and they had bulls there, and my mum and dad let me ride even though it was really dangerous!'

'They let you ride bulls, but they won't let you go to Hogsmeade or play Quidditch? You're parents are just-' Dorado began.

But Teddy interrupted, 'it does seem odd; they let you do dangerous things and then you come here and you aren't allowed to do fun things that aren't dangerous at all.'

Joven began looking really uncomfortable and his eyes moved between his friends as if he were considering them carefully.

'What is it Jojo?' Teddy asked.

Joven bit his lip, 'if I tell you something, you promise not to tell anyone? I mean no one at all, it is a secret.'

'Tell someone a secret you tell us? What kind of friend would do that?' Dorado asked, his tone almost angry.

'Of course we wouldn't ever tell anyone something you've told us!' Teddy exclaimed.

Joven took a deep breath and looked around them as if making sure no one could overhear. His voice when he spoke was conspiratorially soft, 'it isn't that my parents don't want me to do any of this stuff; they would actually like for me to do it all. But the Headmistress has forbid me to play Quidditch or go to Hogsmeade until next year because…well because I am only ten years old.'

Teddy and Dorado gapped at Joven, looking completely dumbstruck.

'Ten?' Dorado whispered heatedly, 'but – but that is impossible!' his voice grew a tad louder, 'they don't allow ten year olds in Hogwarts! You have to be eleven; that has been the rule…well forever! Everyone knows that.'

Joven looked around, 'yes I know, keep your voice down. I am here because of a special arrangement made between my parents, the Ministry and the Headmistress. You see, my parents found out that I was on the list of children that would be taken hostage and they got really upset. That is why they sent me back here. But the thing is, just being here wasn't good enough because that wouldn't stop them from finding me. So they wanted to send me somewhere I would be safe and well, they told me that Hogwarts was the safest place in the world.'

'Here?' Dorado frowned, 'why is Hogwarts the safest place? You could have stayed with your relatives.'

Joven shook his head, 'I don't really know why, but they said that next to Gringotts, it is the safest place against all types of magic and such and that no one would be able to take me from here.'

'Wow,' commented Teddy who was still shocked by the news that his friend was only ten years old.

'My parents merely asked the Headmistress if I could stay here, you know, not actually attend school, but she said that there was no reason I couldn't start now if I had to be here anyway. The problem is, the old magic rules; when Hogwarts was created, certain things were set for children to begin at eleven years old, so I cannot do those things.'

'I didn't know the Headmistress could decide something like that, I mean, I thought it was like a rule etched in stone or something,' Dorado said quietly.

'Well it is really the Ministry of Magic that has set the age limits, but my parents know the Minister of Magic, and he helped us get the exception.'

'Kingsley!' Teddy said brightly.

Joven nodded smiling, 'he is the one that brought me here to Hogwarts when I arrived from the Americas.'

'He is brilliant, really nice and he does a lot of cool tricks with his wand,' Teddy declared, then he met Joven's eyes again, 'will you be eleven soon?'

'Nope. I just turned ten before the term started, so I have to wait tell next year to do certain things.'

'Well,' said Dorado, 'that explains a few things.' He looked at Joven and grinned, 'so I guess you aren't a scaredy-cat after all; that's good to know.'

Joven smiled a little, 'no. But now you see why I don't want to get into trouble. I mean the Minister and the Headmistress did me and my parents a big favor and my parents said that if I got into heaps of trouble she might change her mind and make me leave.'

'Not to mention it wouldn't be a nice way of paying them back for letting you in,' Teddy added a little wryly.

'Well it's not like it is your fault they sent you here early,' Dorado said softly, albeit arrogantly, 'I see no reason why you can't do all the stuff you are supposed to be able to do just because you have arrived earlier than most of us have.'

'It is just the rules. You have to be at least eleven to play team Quidditch which doesn't affect anyone normally because everyone is eleven when they come and if I go to Hogsmeade I have to leave Hogwarts and I won't be protected anymore.'

'Well that's true I suppose,' Dorado conceded, 'but that won't prevent us from bringing you tons of treats back and even ice cream if it doesn't melt on the way!'

Joven smiled happily, 'I can give you guys money and you can bring me stuff!'

Teddy nodded, 'don't worry about that, we will and we'll bring ourselves back lots of stuff too! George, he is part of my family and he has a shop there; Weasley's Wizard Wheezes with all kinds of cool stuff we can get!'

'The owner of the joke shop is part of your family?' Dorado asked excitedly, 'well that is the best news I've heard all day! He'll probably be able to give us all kinds of things other people won't have!'

Teddy nodded, 'he told me before I left that he would have some special presents for me when we came to Hogsmeade.'

Joven smiled mischievously, 'you know, joke shops aren't the only place to get some great stuff.'

'What do you mean?' Teddy asked.

Joven whipped out his wand and cried '_Orchideous-aguamentus_!' and a beautiful bouquet of flowers erupted from his wand.

Dorado pulled a face, 'great joke! What fun is a bunch of flowers?' he asked in a bored tone.

Joven offered them to Dorado, 'they are for you, take them.'

'Do I look like a girl to you? What would I want with a bunch of flowers?'

'Just take them.'

'I don't want them, you weirdo,' Dorado said disgustedly, shoving lightly at the bouquet.

'Take them,' Joven cajoled, pressing the bouquet toward his friend.

Dorado gave an exasperated mutter and snatched the flowers from the wand and then jumped upward, yelping when water began squirting into his face. He threw them down onto the table as Teddy and Joven burst out laughing.

'I'm going to throttle you!' Dorado cried, wiping his face.

Teddy and Joven laughed even harder and several students near them joined in.

'Sit down Nax,' Teddy said with mirth in his tone, 'that was brilliant, Jojo!'

Dorado fell back into his seat still looking daggers at Joven, 'it wasn't funny.'

'No it wasn't; it was hilarious!' Teddy responded still laughing.

Dorado's angry glare slowly began to evolve into an expression of excitement, 'we should give them to Professor Sprout!' he said, his anger seemingly forgotten as the idea flew from his lips.

Teddy's eyes grew wide with merriment and his laughter increased.

'We should not,' Joven said with finality in his voice.

'You show us this great prank, play it on me, and then you don't want us to use it on anyone else?' Dorado asked Joven, his tone washed with amazement.

'Well you can, but I'm not going to,' Joven responded adamantly.

'He probably shouldn't, he'll get in trouble. But that doesn't mean we can't,' Teddy said, 'you just do the spell and then Nax and I will hand them to her.'

Dorado laughed, 'Gods! That will be great! I can't wait to see her face!'

'Where did you learn that? Did your parents teach it to you?' Teddy asked Joven curiously.

Joven shook his head, 'I found it in the library.'

'They have make-your-own prank books in the library?' Dorado seemed intrigued.

'No of course not. It was a book on combination spells. I found it while I was looking for something else and I looked in it. It explained how to combine spells and I tried one of the examples they gave using orchideous and aguamenti, the bouquet and water spells, and that was the result.'

'And you just say the spells together?' Dorado asked.

'No, it is a bit more complicated than that. There are a lot of rules, but this one you just change the ending of the second spell when combining them.'

'Um,' Teddy said, 'I think we are going to have to spend more time in the library!'

Joven laughed, that is where I always studied before I started studying with you guys.'

'Well it paid off!' Dorado exclaimed grinning.

The lads realized that students around them were packing up their things, reminding them that their Herbology class was due to start. They quickly picked up their things and headed for the portrait.

They passed a table with three girls sitting together. One Teddy recognized as the petite red-head named Gessica, who had trouble with the Boggart in their DADA class. She seemed to hang around the two girls who sat at the table with her quite often; a bronze-skinned girl with long dark hair and brilliant green eyes and a very tall, pale, blonde girl with large glasses.

Teddy saw Dorado tug Gessica's hair as they passed the table and so he was not surprised to hear a small cry from her. Nor was he surprised when moments later she ran behind them and gave Dorado a quick kick in the leg.

Dorado turned and stared down at her furiously, 'what did you do that for?'

'You pulled my hair! I saw you!'

'No I didn't. You were turned in the opposite direction! What, do you have eyes in the back of your head?'

'I felt it when you were directly behind me! Don't lie!' little Gessica cried out lividly.

Dorado looked down at her, his face flushed, 'you are imagining things, you – you little munchkin!'

Gessica narrowed her eyes at Dorado, but before she could retort, her tall, bespectacled, blond friend arose from the table and marched to where they stood.

Gessica's friend was taller than Dorado and glared down at him forebodingly, 'I saw you too! You pulled her hair you stupid, ugly cow!'

Dorado took a step back and regarded the blonde with a look of distaste, 'look four-eyes, I don't care what you think you saw, you are wrong!'

Teddy laughed, but stopped quickly when the blonde balled her fist and slugged Dorado in the arm.

'Ouch!' Dorado cried, grabbing his arm and looking angrily at the girl, 'you better be glad I don't hit girls or you'd be lying on the floor right now!' he shouted.

Teddy grabbed Dorado's arm and began pulling him away, 'forget it Nax. Let the babies cry if they want, we are going to be late for class.'

Gessica looked at her blonde friend, 'forget them, Charity, we will be late too!'

Charity gave Dorado a dirty look before moving back to their table, 'there is more where that came from, Dor-ugly' she threatened while still glaring at Dorado. She shoved a book forcefully into her bag.

'You push me again and I might forget you're a girl,' Dorado spat, his eyes shooting venom. Teddy continued to drag him toward the portrait. Joven lent a hand and the two managed to get Dorado out before the scene became uglier.

'I hate that stupid girl,' Dorado declared as they began walking down the stairs.

'Gessica?' Joven asked.

'No, her stupid friend, Charity.'

'I saw you pull Gessica's hair,' Teddy commented.

Dorado smirked, 'maybe I did.'

'You like her!' Joven declared, 'you like girls!'

'I do not!' Dorado said angrily, 'especially not little, red-headed munchkins!'

Teddy and Joven began laughing and then commenced teasing their friend about Gessica all the way to the greenhouse. Dorado hissed unpleasant remarks back at them and finally told them that he was never going to speak to them again if they didn't stop. At that point they reached the greenhouse and Teddy and Joven finally let the matter drop.

Professor Sprout was getting up in years and stood at the rear of the greenhouse waiting for the students to settle at the long table in the room.

'There she is, do the spell Joven and give us your wand,' Dorado said urgently as they entered the greenhouse.

Joven hesitated for a moment, but then pulled his wand and called out the spell. The lovely bouquet once again flourished from his wand. He quickly handed it to Dorado and watched while Teddy and Dorado approached their teacher.

'Professor Sprout, look what we were able to do! We figured out the spell to make flowers appear from our wand. We thought you would be pleased seeing as you are the Herbology professor and all,' Dorado said.

'Eh?' inquired Professor Sprout, who being somewhat hard of hearing, had missed his entire speech.

'For you,' Teddy yelled.

'Oh!' Professor Sprout said smiling, 'that is terribly sweet of you two young ones and you've learned the orchideous spell! Well ten points to each of you for – Ravenclaw is it?'

'No we are Gryffindors,' Dorado cried.

'Ah yes, well with you all sharing the class I haven't gotten used to who is who or who goes where with what yet!' the professor tittered.

'Well they are for you,' Dorado yelled.

The professor smiled graciously and took hold of the wand and pulled out the flowers. She then jumped and cried out in surprise as water zipped with a mild force from the flowers into her hair and face.

Professor Sprout threw the flowers onto her desk angrily and wiped the water from her face. She glared down at the two boys who were doing a very poor job of holding in their laughter. Behind them, the rest of the class didn't even try to hide their mirth; they were laughing uproariously.

'Detention tonight; two hours at eight o' clock sharp. Meet me in the main hall and fifty points from Gryffindor house for each of you.'

'Sorry professor,' Dorado said, still trying to control his mirth, 'we didn't realize they would do that!'

'Me either, sorry,' said Teddy, but it came out in a wave of broken syllables as he was worse than Dorado at hiding his laughter.

'Take your seats, NOW!' Professor Sprout screamed.

The boys turned, shaking with silent laughter as they joined Joven at the table. Low chuckling escaped them again as they met their friend, unable to control their mirth.

'My wa-' began Joven, but stopped when he noticed that Professor Sprout had followed Teddy and Dorado to their seats, albeit at a slightly slower gait.

The professor stood towering over them still glaring, 'which of you belongs to this wand?'

Teddy and Dorado looked quickly at Joven and then turned simultaneously and together declared, 'it's mine.'

The professor looked at them both and then pointedly at their wands which they had just laid on the table as the professor required the class to do. 'The truth!' she demanded.

Joven turned, 'it's mine,' he said with remorse.

'Very well, you may join your friends in detention tonight and another fifty points from Gryffindor. You are Gryffindor as well I presume?'

Joven nodded and accepted his wand from the professor.

'Very well,' she looked from Dorado to Teddy, 'and twenty points off of Gryffindor for each of you for lying!' With a last furious glace at the lads she moved back toward her place at the head of the room.

'The old biddy,' Dorado whispered.

'I HEARD THAT,' screeched Professor Sprout, 'thirty points more off for that comment and if I hear another word from you, you'll be spending the week with me inserting cow manure into the Mandrake plants!'

The class was set to task and the noise level had increased before Dorado spoke again, 'I can't believe she heard me! We practically scream in her face and she is deaf as a dung bomb and suddenly she can hear a whisper from a kilometer away!'

Teddy shook his head in commiseration and then turned to a miserable looking Joven, 'sorry about that; but you shouldn't have said anything, I would have insisted that it was my wand.'

'Me too,' Dorado added.

'Well that might have been problematic, Nax' Teddy said sending his friend a sideways glance, 'that is what got us into trouble in the first place; if you had just stayed quiet everything would have been fine.'

'Or if you had-' Dorado began.

But Joven cut him off, 'it s'okay,' he said softly.

Dorado looked at Joven's down turned head, 'don't worry, mate, we'll tell the headmistress that you were not involved,' he said confidently.

'Professor Sprout will probably forget anyway; she is losing it a bit even if her hearing seems to come and go. We'll show up and she'll likely forget to meet us – we probably won't even have to do detention,' Teddy added.

--

By eight-ten, the three lads were on their hands and knees, scrubbing the floor of one of the dungeon rooms, serving a rather tedious detention set out by the not-so-forgetful-as-Teddy-had-hoped Professor Sprout.

Joven, who had been fretting all day over getting in trouble continued to do so as they worked, 'I just know she is going to tell Headmistress McGonagall and I will be sent home! he cried mournfully for the twentieth time since the incident.

'Jojo,' Teddy said evenly, 'if she was going to tell, she would have told already. And if she has told, McGonagall has not dismissed you or even asked to see you. Don't worry about it.'

'Really, Jojo, you worry far too much. It was just a prank; the Headmistress was probably laughing when Sprout told her about it.'

'_No she wasn't_! _She didn't laugh until Sprout left her office!_' a lofty voice said from above.

The three lads spun around and looked up to find that Peeves had joined them.

'You!' Teddy declared standing up and pulling out his wand. Dorado was right behind him, pulling his out as well.

'What are you going to do Little Loopy and Madman Malfoy? Send me a flower bouquet?' Peeves laughed uproariously at his own joke.

Dorado narrowed his eyes and sent the same stunner that he'd sent the boy on the train, a knocking curse Draco had taught him. While it didn't have the full power of a well learned curse, it still packed enough force to send a person reeling.

Peeves dodged it laughing all the while, but stopped suddenly when Teddy's jinx hit him full in the chest a moment later. This one, also a gift from Draco to his brother and then gifted to Teddy, was the famous bottom expanding jinx Dorado had used on Wallaby. However the jinx's effect on Poltergeists was quite distinct; Peeves entire body began to stretch.

'Oiiiiiiiiiiiii' Peeves screeched as his body began expanding radically in every direction.

The three lads laughed at the spectacle and watched Peeves floating upward, crying out threats and promises until he finally popped out of sight.

'I hope he bursts!' Draco declared, 'good one, Boots!'

'Yeah, but not good enough. I am going to hurt that stupid poltergeist in every way I can. He deserves it for what he called my dad!'

'Not to mention what he called you!' Dorado added.

'Little Loony and Madman Malfoy,' Joven repeated laughing.

Teddy and Dorado turned on him and glared.

Joven merely bent back down to the task of scrubbing the floor, chuckling all the while. That is until Teddy knocked the scrub bucket over with his foot and the water began rushing past Joven's knees.

Joven jumped up in surprise and looked down at his wet pants and then back at his two friends who were now laughing. A moment later Joven joined in, and Teddy and Dorado learned that day that their friend had no problem laughing as hard at himself as he did at others.

When Joven's laughter ceased he turned happy eyes upon his friends, 'do you think Peeves was telling the truth? Do you think the Headmistress laughed when Professor Sprout left her office?'

Dorado chuckled, 'I am one hundred percent certain she did. Who wouldn't?'

Teddy was smiling also, 'I agree. I don't think you need to give it another thought, mate.'

Joven smiled happily and looked as if he finally believed that he wasn't going to be sent packing at daylight.

Teddy received an owl from Harry on the following Monday telling him that he was coming to the campus the following day, leaving Teddy ecstatic. He told his friends that he wanted them to meet his godfather and at lunch time on Tuesday, when Harry made his appearance at Hogwarts, they stood awaiting his arrival at the front gates.

'Harry!' Teddy said when his godfather appeared.

'Teddy!' Harry replied, pulling the gate open, slipping inside and grabbing Teddy into a fierce hug.

'How have you been?' Harry asked, finally releasing him and regarding him with a fond smile.

'Great!' Teddy replied responding with a grand smile of his own.

Harry's eyes flickered to where Dorado and Joven stood staring and a small wave of surprise cross his expression.

'These are my friends, Dorado and Joven,' Teddy said signaling his friends.

Harry moved forward, looking speculatively at Dorado as he shook the boy's hand. 'You are Draco's little brother aren't you?'

Dorado nodded, smiling a little mischievously.

Harry smiled, 'your brother and I went to school together.'

'I know,' Dorado said, 'he told me all about it.'

'Ah,' Harry said evasively and then looked to where Joven stood and pushed a hand forward to offer a shake, 'Joven?'

Joven nodded, 'Joven Thomas,' he looked at Harry quizzically, 'you are Harry Potter?'

'Yes,' Harry responded smiling.

Joven smiled broadly, 'my parents told me they knew you and that you all were together during school and the Freedom War.'

Harry's brows creased slightly, 'Thomas? Your father's name wouldn't be Dean would it?'

Joven nodded, 'yes.'

Harry chuckled, 'I knew your father well and your mother is Luna is it not?'

Joven nodded again, still smiling.

'Yes we were; they were good friends of mine.' Harry frowned a little, 'I heard you were all living in the Americas, Chile wasn't it?'

Joven nodded, 'Yes, we lived in Chile mainly for the last five years.'

Harry smiled again, 'well that must have been exciting. I knew they had a son, but,' Harry frowned a little, 'I hadn't imagined you were already eleven.'

Joven flushed and smiled, but didn't reply.

'We are all eleven,' Dorado said quickly.

'Well I figured you all must be,' Harry said chuckling again before turning to Joven once more, 'so you are all back from Chile then? I have to contact your mum and dad. I haven't seen them in years and I would like to.'

'No, they are still in Chile; they just sent me home to start school.'

'Ah I see, well if you write to them, tell them I said hello. I don't get to see many of my old school mates as much as I would like.'

'Okay,' Joven said smiling.

'My brother is living here in England still, you could see him if you like,' Dorado offered smiling, his eyes twinkling.

Harry looked at Dorado and a smile stretched slowly about his lips, 'well I will have to contact him sometime soon,' he said finally. Harry's eyes flickered to capture all three of them, 'so you are all enjoying Hogwarts then?'

The three lads nodded.

'Good,' Harry said then looked at Teddy, 'if you two don't mind, I would like to speak with Teddy for a bit.'

Teddy smiled and moved to stand next to his godfather while the other boys murmured agreement and loped off together.

'So is this fellow Dorado is the friend Nax you were telling me about in your letters?' Harry asked once they were alone.

Teddy nodded, 'yup, that is his nickname; we all have them. I am Boots and we call Joven, Jojo.'

'Boots?' Harry inquired.

Teddy laughed, 'for these,' he responded pointing proudly down at his father's old boots. I told Nax the story of my boots and he came up with the name.'

'Ah,' Harry said smiling, 'well it is sort of an honor to your dad then.'

Teddy nodded as they began slowly walking toward the castle.

'The three of you are not getting up to too much trouble I hope? You and Jojo and Nax…' Harry inquired.

Teddy shook his head fervently, 'Nax and I are related, Harry!'

'Yes, if he is Draco's brother that means your mum was his mum's niece.'

Teddy nodded happily, 'we are like cousins!'

'Yes, second or third or something; but you will find all wizard families are related somewhere along the line.'

'I don't think I am related to Joven,' Teddy said frowning a little.

'I would say if you go back far enough you'll find that you are.'

Teddy smiled at the thought.

'Well I am glad you three are not getting up to too much trouble,' Harry continued, 'as I told you Teddy, it is important that you follow the rules here and do well in your studies. You are very talented and your future will depend on how hard you work now to become a great wizard. Getting up to Mischief and pulling pranks and such will only hamper your efforts.'

'You said my dad was a great wizard and that he made pranks when he was young with your father, Sirius Black and that other fellow.'

'Well they did, Teddy, but I didn't tell you that so that you would do it also. They got in a lot of trouble and had to spend a lot of time in detention. You don't want to be in detention all of the time, do you?'

Teddy recalled the two detentions he'd already served and the one he'd avoided; he did not wish to remain on _that _topic. Harry already knew about one of them and obviously the Headmistress hadn't been sending messages about the others. He preferred to keep Harry in the dark about all of that.

Teddy began speaking rapidly, 'I am working really hard! I will show you the essays I have done; I have been getting top marks!' He then quite adroitly changed the subject, 'why didn't Ginny come?'

'Ginny had to work; they had an important meeting at her office today.'

'About the werewolves?'

Harry smiled, 'no; the werewolf issue is pretty much resolved now, Teddy. With the new potion and the safety rules in place, werewolves have the right to work, go to school and pretty much do whatever anyone else does. Your father would be very proud of what Ginny's office has achieved.'

Teddy nodded, 'Ginny told me that already. I just thought that she was still working on all of that.'

'No that is settled, now they are finalizing all of the issues for the Giants. They have it a little more difficult because they are often destructive without meaning to be when they venture into society. But they will work it out, they are trying very hard.'

Teddy nodded, 'how are James and Albus?'

Harry smiled, 'they are great and James misses you; he asks about you all of the time.'

'I miss him too.'

Harry smiled fondly at Teddy and squeezed his shoulder, 'well you will see everyone at Christmas. We are going to spend it at the Burrows again this year. Your grandmother won't be with us though, did she tell you she was planning to travel with her Venturing Witches group to Egypt?'

'Yeah, she wrote me about it,' Teddy smiled, 'but everyone else will be there, right?'

'Yup,' Harry confirmed, then he frowned a bit, 'your friend Jojo; do you know if his parents are coming home for Christmas?'

They had reached the castle and Harry pulled the grand entrance doors open for them to enter.

Teddy stepped inside before answering, 'I don't know, he didn't say.'

'Well if he plans to remain at Hogwarts for Christmas, you can invite him to stay with us at the Burrows if he'd rather.'

Teddy's face lit up, 'that would be brilliant! I hope his parents aren't coming; I will tell him!'

Harry laughed, 'well I am sure he hopes they are coming home; but if not, invite him to stay with us.'

'Okay.'

'I was thinking that you and I might eat lunch together Teddy; I have arranged to have lunch brought into a meeting room here for us. Afterwards I have a meeting with your Headmistress.'

'You do?' Teddy began worrying; he hoped that McGonagall wasn't planning to fill Harry in on all the things that he and his friends had been up to.

'I do; she asked to see me when I told her I was coming around.'

'Oh, what for?'

'I don't know for certain. I have not seen her in several months, so perhaps it is just to say hello.'

'Oh,' was all Teddy could think to say about that.

Harry and Teddy enjoyed a delicious lunch prepared just for them in one of the castle's meeting rooms near the Headmistress's office. To Teddy's delight, they did not discuss anything more about his conduct at Hogwarts, but instead spoke about Teddy's god-siblings and the Weasleys who were part of Teddy's adopted family, and other friends, none of whom he'd seen since coming to school.

Just as they were finishing, Harry turned to Teddy, 'so your friend Dorado is in Gryffindor with you?'

Teddy nodded, 'he said his family is usually sorted into Slytherin, but the hat put him in Gryffindor. It was really lucky; we met on the train and we were both happy we'd ended up in the same house.'

Harry nodded, 'his brother was in Slytherin. But he reminds me of my godfather, Sirius Black, he was also a part of their family, you know.'

'Yup.'

'Sirius was sorted into Gryffindor as well,' Harry mused.

Teddy recalled Peeves' song about Lupin, Black and Potter getting up to mischief and decided the conversation was moving into dangerous territory again. 'Nax said that you and his brother didn't get along very well in school,' he remarked.

'Oh did he now?' Harry said, 'I wondered why he had a mischievous smile across his face when he told me I could contact his brother.'

_Wrong topic!_ thought Teddy, everything kept coming back to that word: Mischief!

But Harry continued to speak, 'Draco, that's his brother, he and I argued a bit, but that was a long time ago. I'll probably contact him one day.'

'Well at least he didn't hex you; I told you about the fat boy here who hexed Nax and he is always giving us dirty looks and stuff.'

Harry frowned, 'well as I told you in the letter I sent; I don't want you getting involved in a lot of hex wars and such, Teddy.'

'We're not! He hexed Nax and that is why Nax hexed him back and another time he threw a dung bomb at us!'

Harry's lips trembled for a moment as if he were attempting to hide a smile, 'well when things like that happen, you go and find a professor and tell them what happened.'

'We tried! But the professor wouldn't listen; she just gave us detention like I told you!'

'It sounds to me like she gave you detention for hexing, not for trying to tell her about it without retaliating against this boy who'd jinxed your friend.'

Teddy opened his mouth and then closed it again, his face looking a bit sullen.

'Teddy,' Harry said gently, 'I know you want to stand up for yourself and your friends, I did the same thing.'

'You threw hexes and jinxes while you were at Hogwarts?'

'That isn't the point. I am saying I know how it feels when someone jinxes you or your friends; you want revenge. But the best way to handle it is to go and get a professor.'

'But that would make me a tattletale!'

'It is not tattling to tell a professor when someone has done something wrong,' Harry frowned thinking for a moment, 'that is, as long as what they are doing wrong is really wrong.'

Teddy look confused, 'huh?'

'Well sometimes one breaks the rules for a higher purpose; for a good cause. That happens when rules are put in place to stop you from doing something that is right. But that is not likely to ever be the case here.'

Confusion still swam in Teddy's eyes as he nodded in response.

'Just don't break any rules and you will be fine, Teddy,' Harry said at last.

Teddy smiled, 'we are going to Hogsmeade soon!'

'Ah with your friends! That will be fun, I used to love Hogsmeade weekends.'

Teddy frowned, 'well Nax and I are going, not Jojo.'

'Oh? Why is that?'

Teddy looked up quickly realizing that he'd gotten onto another topic he didn't wish to discuss, 'well he…he just wants to stay here.'

Harry frowned, 'why is that?'

'You know, probably to be alone and think about things. Usually there are so many people around you can't find anywhere to think about stuff alone.'

Harry's frown deepened and he looked at Teddy fondly, swiping the lad's check with his thumb, 'do you have a hard time finding a place to be alone Teddy?'

Teddy looked up quickly realizing he'd given Harry the wrong impression, 'no!' he declared, then realized he was going to make a muddle of Jojo's situation. 'That is, sometimes I want to be alone and study and work on spells and stuff.'

Harry smiled fondly, 'I sometimes wanted to be alone too. It was hard for me to find a place here, but usually there was an empty classroom.'

Teddy nodded, 'yeah.'

Harry frowned a little as if considering something and then he suddenly lifted his head and his eyes began shining with excitement, 'look what I've brought you.' He reached into his robe to pull out a small bag and then used his wand to expand it into a rather large one.

Teddy jumped up and reached for the bag and looked inside, 'TREATS!' he cried loudly, shuffling all of the pastries and other treats inside about with his hand. He put the bag down and leaned over to give Harry a hug.

'Thanks Harry, you are the greatest!'

'Those are from your Gran too, she told me to get them for you because she is off planning her Christmas trip today. So they are from Ginny, your Gran and me.'

Teddy released Harry still smiling, 'these will last us for weeks!' he declared, picking up the bag and folding it closed.

Harry laughed, 'you are just lucky to have a family that is willing to supply you with so many goodies; I never got half as many as you when I was here.'

Teddy continued to smile.

'I have to go speak with your Headmistress now.' Harry stood up and hugged Teddy into his body, 'you be good and soon it will be Christmas and we'll see each other again,' he remarked, sounding more as if he were consoling himself than Teddy.

'Okay, I am glad you came, Harry.'

'Me too. Be good Teddy, I will miss you.'

'I'll miss you too, Harry. I can't wait till Christmas at the Burrows!'

Harry laughed, 'you are thinking of the presents!'

Teddy nodded a little abashed, 'but I want to see everyone too!'

'I know you do, Teddy,' Harry said, before giving him another quick hug and a kiss, 'be good,' he repeated as they left the room and parted ways.

Teddy sent a silent prayer to whatever gods watched over wizards and begged them to prevent McGonagall from telling Harry about all of the things he and his friends had gotten up to.

--

Shortly after leaving Harry, Teddy found his friends and they headed of to afternoon classes. The afternoon and evening seemed to drag by for Teddy after all of the excitement of Harry's visit. So it was that when the three boys were headed up the stairs to their common room after dinner and they saw Professor Passat before them, Teddy became excited once more. He immediately signaled his friends to keep quiet so they could follow the professor undetected.

They crept up the stairs after the Professor had turned down the seventh floor hallway and reached the top in time to see him turning into the restricted corridor. They moved forward slowly and peered around the edge of the hall just as Passat reached the huge oak door at the end.

They saw the professor pull out his wand and wave it before the door several times before replacing it in his robes. He then opened the door and slipped inside, closing it tightly behind him.

'Did you see that?' Dorado said, his tone hushed, 'he used some kind of weird spell to get in, that was not the door unlocking spell!'

Teddy nodded, 'it was probably a spell that allows you to get past that force blocking the stairs.'

Joven looked speculatively at the oak door, 'you remember those symbols on the door? Maybe they have something to do with the spell he uses.'

Dorado lifted his brows, 'maybe so, that isn't a bad idea.'

'But it isn't a full moon, why is he going there now?' Teddy questioned.

'To check on his room,' Dorado responded as if this were the most obvious explanation in the world.

Teddy rolled his eyes, 'why would he need to check on his room?'

Dorado shrugged, 'to clean it up after using it or whatever.'

'I think there is something else in there,' Joven remarked, 'something he is checking on.'

'Could be; maybe he uses it and some other creature uses it when it is vacant the rest of the month. Maybe a vampire lives in there,' Dorado suggested excitedly.

'Vampires don't live holed up in attics,' Teddy said pragmatically, 'like werewolves, they have a helpful potion now and are starting to be accepted by wizard society. They live in houses and are getting jobs and stuff too.'

Dorado shrugged again, 'well who knows, maybe it is a vampire who can't control himself even with the potion.'

'Nax you come up with the dumbest theories,' Teddy complained, 'why would they have an uncontrollable vampire here at Hogwarts with all of the kids around?'

'To give him _plenty of prey_!' Dorado claimed in a dramatically scary tone.

'What we should do,' Joven suggested, interrupting the nonsensical vampire debate, 'is copy the symbols from the door and then look in the library and see what they mean. It might tell us more about what is up there.'

'We already know what is up there, Professor Passat,' Dorado said stubbornly.

'Yeah, but just one night a month. I think something else may be up there too,' Teddy said agreeing with Joven.

Dorado sighed, 'fine, we'll copy the symbols from the door tomorrow. We better go to the house, Passat might come back down anytime, he isn't going to transform tonight.'

The three walked quickly back to the other side of the seventh floor and stepped through the portrait entrance after giving the password.

'Look! There's that stupid Dor-ugly again,' Charity's loud voice greeted them as they entered the common room.

'Look! It's an Amazon!' Dorado responded just as loudly in response to Charity's taunt.

Charity arose from the table where she had been sitting with Gessica and their dark-haired friend, both giggling in Charity's wake as she stomped across the room to where the lads stood, 'what did you say?' she hissed at Dorado.

'Are you deaf as well as an Amazon?' Dorado roared.

Charity narrowed her eyes, 'I may be tall for my age, but at least I am not ugly like you!' she bellowed.

'Who says you aren't?' Teddy shot back.

As Charity lunged forward to strike Teddy, Dorado pulled his friend out of range causing the tall, blond to miss and stumble forward. Joven caught Charity before she tumbled to the ground and helped her stand up right again.

'Keep your hands off of me!' Charity said nastily to Joven, shoving him away as she walked up to Dorado and leaned down into his face, 'you had better keep away from me and my friends if you know what's good for you!'

Dorado stood his ground and growled back at her, 'look Dumpy, we don't want anything to do with you or your friends! It wasn't us who said anything, you did!

Charity suddenly shoved Dorado harshly causing him to stumble backward and Joven once again came to the rescue steadying Dorado.

'Stupid boy!' Charity spat.

Teddy had a feeling that Dorado's patience with Charity had come to an end, but their Prefect chose that moment to intervene.

'What's going on here?' Andrew said sternly, looking around at the group as he came down the stairs.

'Nothing,' Joven said quickly.

Teddy and Joven began pulling Dorado with them toward the stairs.

'We were just studying,' Charity said as she turned to move back to the table where her friends awaited her. Both of her friends looked more frightened than anything else.

'Well good because we don't need any squabbling going on in the common room,' Andrew continued, 'people are trying to study.' The Prefect seated himself with a huff in one of the chairs before the fireplace and pulled out a book.

Dorado moved up the stairs a little ahead of Teddy and Joven, 'that stupid Charity and I are going to tussle, I can feel it!' he declared angrily.

'You can't tussle with a girl,' Joven pointed out.

'That is no girl, that's an Amazon!' Dorado said heatedly.

Teddy and Joven laughed at that and Dorado soon joined in.

They reached their room and Joven flopped down on his bed tummy first and looked at Dorado, 'I think Charity likes you,' he said smiling cheekily.

Dorado threw a pillow at Joven's head and Teddy groaned.


	6. Midnight Adventure

**The Amazing Adventures of Teddy Remus Lupin **

The extraordinary adventures of Nymphadora Tonks and Remus Lupin's son and godson of the famous Harry Potter during his seven year journey through the Hogwarts School of Magic. Adventure, Humor and Romance.

**Note: **The war in which Harry defeated Voldemort is referred to by the wizard world in this story as the Freedom War.

Disclaimer: All HP characters, situations and entities belong to JK Rowling.

**Chapter Six: Midnight Adventure **

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Teddy, Dorado and Joven had the busiest two weeks of their lives; it seemed as if every professor had issued numerous essays and quizzes for them to prepare or study for. Even Professor Passat, who generally had them do mostly reading and class work, had issued an essay on the defining characteristics of Kappas.

However, Teddy and his friends found time to sneak back into the restricted corridor and carefully copy the symbols from the large oak door at its end. They spent a portion of every night for a week and a half, combing the library to find out what the symbols might mean.

After numerous false starts and dead-ends, it was Joven who finally located an old tome that seemed to contain the answer they had been searching for. It showed all of the symbols together as a part of one incantation that countered several spells created to block entry into caves.

'Well,' Dorado mused after hearing the description, 'the locked room isn't exactly a cave.'

Joven pursed his lips, 'no, but all of the symbols are here and it is a counter spell to defeat entry spells. I would imagine you could use it to unblock spells on other entryways apart from caves.'

Teddy's face was animated, 'this has to be it! I mean, all of the symbols are here. I say we learn the incantation and give it a try. It will likely open the door and allow us to go up the stairs.'

'And look!' Joven said pointing to the book, 'you have to wave your wand just so; very similar to the movements we saw Professor Passat making before the door.'

Teddy and Dorado looked over Joven's shoulder at the diagram in the book.

'You may as well give up studying, Dor-ugly it is obvious no information will ever get through that thick head of yours,' a taunting voice rang out above them.

The lads looked up to find Charity and her dark-haired friend, whose name they had discovered was Taquai Narayan, passing by their table. Joven slammed the book shut they had been looking in.

Dorado glared at Charity's back, 'when we need the advice of an Amazon we will climb to the top of a mountain and give a feral yell.'

Teddy and Joven laughed.

Charity, who had continued walking with her friend turned, 'Amazons don't live in the mountains, stupid boy.'

Dorado smirked, 'maybe not, but I know for sure that one lives in Gryffindor.'

Taquai looked at Charity, 'let's just go,' she said softly.

Charity seemed to have not heard her friend, her eyes were glued to Dorado's, 'you want to know something?' she began.

'Not really,' Dorado responded, looking back at the table before him.

'Gessica told the Prefect that you pulled her hair and you are going to get detention for it.'

Dorado didn't look up; he merely raised his forefinger and began ringing it in the air.

'You may not care now,' Charity spat, 'but when Hogsmeade weekend comes up and you are stuck washing the common room windows all day, you'll be sorry!'

Charity put her nose in the air and marched away. Taquai looked quickly at the boys with a slightly anxious expression before following in her wake.

'She's lying,' Joven said, 'what a stupid thing to make up.'

Dorado turned his head and narrowed his eyes at the departing Charity, 'she better be lying if she knows what's good for her.'

'Well it would be Gessica that told on you, mate,' Teddy pointed out.

'I don't care,' Dorado said, his tone savage, 'that Charity will suffer for it. If Gessica ratted me out to Andrew, the Amazon talked her into it for sure.'

Teddy and Joven didn't respond. They had quickly learned that when it came to Charity Charleston, Dorado would spend hours vilifying her if encouraged.

The lads spent the next week and a half memorizing the few words of the incantation after checking a second tome to ensure they were pronouncing them correctly. Their plan to follow Professor Passat during the upcoming full moon seemed to be falling into place. They would tail the professor following afternoon classes and watch to see if he entered the room. If he did, they planned to slip inside and listen for sounds proving that he was indeed a werewolf.

Two days before the full moon, the lads had caught Hagrid making his way along the seventh floor hallway and turning into the restricted corridor. That made them more certain than ever that in addition to serving as a safe place for Passat to transform; the attic room was used to house another creature as well.

'If the incantation works,' Dorado said excitedly, 'we can go back the night after the full moon, once Professor Passat has left the room, and find out what creature they are keeping in there.'

Joven frowned a little, 'doesn't it seem strange that they would keep a creature in the same room where Professor Passat transforms?'

Teddy shook his head, 'Professor Passat can easily transform and remain with the creature, whatever it is, in wolf form. Wolves get along with other animals fine, it is humans that they seek for prey.'

The boys then fell into an argument over whether or not to try and get information out of the gamekeeper, Hagrid, but decided in the end that he was not likely to give them any information.

The day of the full moon, the lads were in a state of uncontainable excitement. They went to the library after breakfast for a final review of the wand motion for the incantation they had been studying.

While they were in the library, Joven pulled out a modern tome on werewolves and brought it to the table where his friends sat waving their hands in practice.

'Listen to this,' Joven said, reading from the book, '_the new and improved Wolfsbane potion for werewolves has increased effectiveness and wizards taking the potion will generally be in condition to participate in normal daily activities and work immediately prior to, and after, the transformation of their bodies_.'

'Ha!' Dorado said arrogantly, 'just as I told you; that is why the professor was able to teach the day before and after the full moon!'

Joven cleared his throat and continued, '_the potion will prevent common exhaustion and illness that affected werewolves previously as a result of their transformation. It also allows for full retention of the human mind and suppresses the urge to seek human prey while in wolf form – provided the werewolf did not have murderous intent in human form_.'

'So we could technically go into the attic room without worrying about being bitten,' Dorado interrupted again.

'It says provided they have no murderous intent in human form,' Teddy commented wryly, 'I am not so sure that Professor Passat doesn't want to kill you when he is in his _human mind_, Nax.'

Dorado and Joven laughed and Teddy joined in after a few moments.

'Is that all of it?' Teddy asked Joven.

'Just this little bit more,' Joven responded looking down at the book once more, _'werewolves may become drowsy or groggy as a result of the potion during the full moon, and sleep through the transformation. Others may remain awake and alert, but in full control of their thought processes and actions._'

'You know,' Joven said looking up from the book, 'it would be pretty cool to be a werewolf if you weren't the groggy or sleepy kind. You could take the potion run around in the forest and stuff. That would be brilliant!'

Teddy nodded, 'I've always thought it would be wicked.'

'It would be incredible,' Dorado agreed, 'but without the potion of course. I mean what fun is the potion? I would want to be a wild wolf, running in the forest and-'

Dorado suddenly stood up and raised his arms overhead. With his fingers clawed, his mouth stretched and a scary visage in place, he lurched toward Joven with a mockingly threatening gait, '_eat little children_!' he finished dramatically in a monster like voice.

Joven began laughing a little wildly as his friend approached and conked him lightly about the body with a book when he got near enough.

Dorado growled loudly and lunged forward playfully causing Joven to yelp and the sound of his laughter to increase. Teddy's laughter rang out as well.

That was when Madam Pince kicked them summarily out of the library.

As soon as afternoon classes finished, the lads raced to Passat's office to await his leaving so they could follow him to the restricted area. The door to his office was closed and they stood wondering if they should knock to make sure he was inside.

'What will we say we want?' Joven asked.

'We could ask about the essay he set for us,' suggested Dorado.

'Well-' began Teddy.

'Hello lad's,' Professor Slughorn interrupted them as he came striding down the hallway. 'Are you looking for Professor Passat? He's gone home for the day; saw him leave about an hour ago.'

'He left?' Dorado repeated, his tone washed in misery.

Slughorn nodded, his expression commiserating, 'is there something I can help you boys with?'

'No,' Teddy responded quickly, 'we wanted to ask about an essay he set for us. Does he have a room here in the castle?'

'I'm afraid not; he has rooms in Hogsmeade. He'll be in first thing tomorrow, however; you can speak with him in the morning. He usually arrives early.'

The lad's nodded as Professor Slughorn continued on his way and turned out of view at the end of the hall.

The three friends stood staring at one another, matching disappointment etched across their faces.

'He's likely already gone to the attic room!' Joven said dejectedly.

Dorado nodded, 'we should have followed him right after DADA class!'

Teddy sighed, 'well I suppose we can go back into the attic room tonight and listen; with the Symbol spell we may even be able to go up the stairs.'

'And peak inside!' Dorado added.

Teddy frowned, 'we better not. That is, I don't think it would be right for us to just burst in, even if he has taken the potion and would not be dangerous.'

'Why?' Dorado looked put out.

'Because you don't just burst in on people! We wouldn't just burst into his house in Hogsmeade.' Teddy replied.

'I guess it is kind of his home away from home,' Dorado mused, 'I was thinking of it more like a classroom.'

'Well it isn't a classroom,' Teddy replied flatly.

Dorado crossed his arms over his chest, 'I can't believe we waited all of this time and missed him going into the room!'

Teddy nodded slowly, 'well at least we can listen and see if he's in there again. If the spell works we can go right up to the door – assuming there is a door up there.'

Dorado looked at Teddy speculatively, 'that's a thought. What if there is no door?'

'We heard a door creak,' Joven reminded them.

'Oh yeah,' Dorado said, 'almost as if he leaves it open.'

'I don't think I should go along,' Joven said hesitantly.

Teddy looked at Joven, 'maybe not, we might get caught if that stupid Peeves comes along and rats us out.'

Joven looked disappointed, but nodded in agreement.

'We'll go at midnight,' Dorado said then, 'I overheard the Prefect say that the professors make their rounds till midnight. We were lucky we weren't caught before, but tonight we can go when we are sure everyone is in bed.'

'Everyone but Peeves that is; I wish we could hole him up for the night,' Teddy said mutinously.

Dorado had the brilliant idea of speaking to Blaise Zabini, who had come to act as Assistant to Professor Flitwick. It was very possible, he thought, that all of the staff knew that Passat was a werewolf and he assured his friends that if Blaise knew, he would tell them.

Unfortunately, they could not locate Blaise; he was neither in his rooms nor in the Charms Professor's classroom. They even tried Professor Flitwick's office; however, that room was closed for the day.

Dorado had begun complaining that nothing seemed to be going their way and Joven interrupted his rant to remind them that since he was not going with them, they would have to learn the _Lumos_ spell.

Teddy and Dorado's spirits sunk even lower at yet another forgotten possible roadblock to their plans as they followed their friend outside. They spent a good hour of practice on the wand lighting spell and Dorado had no luck whatsoever; the best he could achieve was a soft flickering light at the tip of his wand by hours end. Teddy, however, was able to produce a small, dull, sustaining light; not nearly as bright as Joven's, but better than nothing.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Midnight seemed to take forever to come as Teddy and Dorado lay awake whispering to one another in their beds, fully dressed and waiting. Joven had fallen asleep earlier; like his friends, he had begun leaving his curtain open so he could talk with them and he'd faded out of the conversation shortly before eleven o' clock.

Teddy and Dorado were too excited to sleep and both slid quickly from their beds when the distant sound of the large clock in the common room advised them that midnight had arrived.

They gathered their wands and crept from the room, down the spiral staircase and through the common room to the portrait. Once outside of Gryffindor house, they found themselves encased in total darkness and Teddy immediately lit his wand.

The boys walked toward the restricted corridor with only the dim light produced by Teddy's wand to guide them. It was difficult to see, so they moved slowly, attempting to make as little sound as possible.

They finally reached the corridor and made their way to the end until they were once again facing the large oak door. Teddy held up his wand and the now familiar symbols stared back at them.

'Do the incantation, Nax,' Teddy whispered.

Dorado drew his wand and began the slow waiving motion they had practiced. '_Onum, vibracius, conjunem, firsol, undunt, tricum_.' He said in a low, sing-song tone.

Despite all of their hard work in finding the incantation, both lads flinched in surprise at the sound of the door lock clicking open.

'It worked!' Teddy said with unsuppressed amazement running through his tone.

Dorado nodded excitedly as he twisted the knob and pushed the door open. He reared back immediately as a wave of heat blast by them, just as it had the last time.

'What is all that heat for, I wonder,' Teddy mused.

Dorado shrugged and allowed Teddy to move inside with his dully lit wand before following closely on his heels.

'We should shut the door just in case anyone comes,' Teddy murmured.

Dorado turned and closed the door, twisting the knob in order to achieve it soundlessly.

'Let's see if we can pass the stairs,' Teddy whispered and turned in the direction where they had seen them before. They had to walk fairly close to the stairs in order to see them as Teddy's light was so dim, but they finally came into view and he began to slowly ascend.

'Yes!' Dorado whispered excitedly when they had passed the third stair and were able to continue. They moved up silently and soon found themselves on the upper landing.

Dorado nudged Teddy when they reached the top of the stairs, 'shine your wand around,' he whispered.

Teddy complied and in the dull light they were just able to make out two doors, one at either end of the landing. The temperature had increased as they moved up the stairs and it was a great degree warmer than it had been downstairs.

'We've got to stand close to the door,' Dorado whispered, 'which one do you think he's in?'

Teddy shrugged, 'we'll have to check both.'

Teddy began creeping slowly toward the door closest to the stairwell on their right, but half way there he tripped, stumbling forward and nearly falling before he caught himself.

Teddy's clumsy movement resounded loud in the dark silence, and he felt Dorado's hands on his back attempting to help him regain his balance. Then-

'R_rrrrrrrrraaaaarrggghhhh!'_

The sonorous growl emanating from their left, found them clutching one another in fear. They stood together silently in the stuffiness of the landing, the light from Teddy's wand wavering slightly in his hand.

'Passat's in that one,' Dorado murmured in a hushed tone, signaling the door on the left.

Teddy nodded, 'he _is_ here!' he whispered back, his voice filled with amazement. For all of the assuredness that he had displayed when proclaiming that Passat was a werewolf, deep down he had doubted it could be true. But Passat _was a werewolf and he was right there…in that room!_

'I told you,' Dorado returned in an equally quiet voice, releasing his hold on Teddy, 'we woke him up.'

Teddy nodded, 'we shouldn't go near that door maybe; he sounds like he forgot to take his potion – or – or it's not working very well.' Teddy pointed his wand at the floor, but he couldn't see anything there that might have caused him to trip.

Dorado nodded and then looked at the door nearby on their right, 'do you think something is in there? Maybe the other creature is kept in there.'

Teddy's nerves were calming; it was the sound that had startled him. He wasn't frightened at the thought of the werewolf, although he realized that without potion, he and Dorado would serve as lovely prey for the professor. Not that he was terrified by that thought either; a wild excitement arose within him at the thought of being one of several animals – a dragon, a werewolf, a lion.

However, the point was moot; they couldn't go in, but the sound had also triggered something else within him – a burgeoning curiosity that had always rested in his heart – seeing a transformed werewolf in the flesh…as his father had been…

'The other creature is probably in there; let's have a look,' Dorado pressed, interrupting his thoughts.

Suddenly they heard the creaking of a door. It appeared to come from within the far left room.

'Passat is moving around,' Dorado whispered, 'there must be rooms inside with more doors.'

Teddy nodded, 'if he forgot his potion it seems like he would be wilder. Perhaps he just gets groggy or isn't affected by the potion like the book said.' He turned and looked back at the door on the right, 'let's go.'

Dorado nodded and followed closely behind Teddy as they approached the large, dark door at the end of the landing.

Teddy tried to twist the knob, but it did not budge. He looked at Dorado knowingly and his friend pulled out his wand.

'_Alohomora_!' Dorado hissed. The spell that he'd perfected to silence didn't work well due to his hesitance in issuing it and a loud _pop!_ sounded.

'R_raarrgh!_

Both boys jumped when the growl sounded at the other end of the hall; it was not as loud this time or as elongated, but startling nonetheless.

'Noise upsets Passat,' Dorado said staring with wary eyes at the far door.

Teddy nodded then looked at the door before them again and reached out to try the knob and found that it was still locked.

'Try the incantation,' Teddy suggested.

With a glance at his friend, Dorado repeated the incantation he'd used on the door below and then Teddy tried the knob again. _It twisted!_

Teddy looked at Dorado with large eyes and his friend nodded in encouragement, so he pushed slowly at the large frame. Another blast of heat hit the lad's faces, fiercer than the last and they reared backward from the hurling hot wind. The force of the blast dissipated, but a good amount of heat was still emanating from the room.

Darkness greeted their eyes from the aperture of the partially opened door. Teddy held his wand before them, but it did not allow them to make out anything, it merely created a glare about the doorway.

Dorado boldly pressed the door until it was open half way and the lads stood staring while Teddy waived his wand slowly about the room. It appeared to be empty, but they couldn't be certain. There was no sound, but it was impossible to see through the darkness. The light from Teddy's wand glanced back at them from the floor, but barely penetrated the dark room.

Teddy bravely took a step forward and then another and felt Dorado close on his heels. Once inside the room, they came to a standstill again and stood listening. Teddy tried to shine the light into the dark expanse, but the blackness seemed to repel it.

They couldn't make out a thing and so they crept further into the room a good distance from the door. The air was choked with heat all around them; it was nearly suffocating.

'I don't think-' Teddy began whispering, but stopped short at the sound of footsteps. _A number of padded feet and all heading in their direction from somewhere in the room!_

'Goooods!' Dorado cried as he started shuffling backwards, pulling Teddy's robe to carry his friend with him.

However, Teddy stumbled as they moved, not expecting the help; he lost his balance and sent them both tumbling to the ground. Teddy scrambled onto all fours and he noticed that the footsteps had stopped sounding, but he could feel that _something_ was nearby. The temperature had increased dramatically and he found it somewhat difficult to breath in the heat of the room. It took only a second to take everything in and his hand shot out reflexively to shine the light of his wand at whatever was in front of them as he started to rise.

Dorado began pulling himself from the ground behind Teddy as the light revealed two pair of sparkling eyes, staring at them, unblinkingly and surrounded by darkness. Suddenly a chorus of high squealing noises met their ears, coming from whatever creatures belonged to the eyes.

Teddy yelped and again began to scramble backward, his body slamming into contact with Dorado's and causing his wand to fly out of his hand. He heard it hit the ground and roll a short distance from where they stood. The light flowing from the wand was extinguished when it hit the ground and the little light it had provided was gone. Teddy turned his head slightly and realized he could not see the door that he knew was somewhere behind them.

Suddenly the padded footsteps and high squealing sounds commenced again, heading in their direction and both boys turned and fled in the direction of the door, but abruptly the direction of the footsteps changed. It sounded like the creatures were coming at them once more, this time from the direction of the door itself.

They turned again and fled rapidly to the left in the darkness, with no idea where they were headed. They tried to run from the creatures, but the sound of the padded steps kept shifting. The creatures seemed to be heading directly for them no matter what direction they turned. The lads found themselves turning again and again, running in circles in the darkness and suddenly the footsteps abruptly ceased.

Teddy and Dorado came to a halt and stood trembling and gasping for breath. The hot air scorched Teddy's throat; it felt as if he were sucking in fire. The silence was ominous and he had no idea where they were in the room; the darkness continued to obscure the location of the door.

'Teddy,' Dorado gasped softly, grabbing at Teddy's robe.

'My wand,' Teddy hissed.

'Creatures!' Dorado whispered urgently.

Teddy understood; this was not the time to search for wands, they had to find the door. Another second passed and almost on automatic now, Teddy cried out, '_Lumos!'_ praying that his wand would light wherever it was and help them find their way out, but nothing happened. Dorado immediately tried the spell as well, but to no avail. Teddy felt Dorado shove his wand forward into his hand as they began inching forward again. Teddy tried to grip the wand only to lose hold of it and it tumbled noisily to the ground.

Both boys dropped to their knees and began feeling frantically around for the wand. The darkness was complete and Teddy noticed his eyes were not adjusting to it. It seemed to be all encompassing, total and utter blackness, impenetrable and horrifying.

'_Lumos!'_ Teddy cried frantically, but the darkness remained complete.

'Let's just go,' Dorado said, his voice shaking.

They stood once more and Teddy began creeping forward, praying that the creatures would remain still where they were. Dorado was huddled closely behind him, urging him to move more rapidly. Without warning, Teddy reached one side of the room and crashed heavily into a wall; he felt Dorado's body slam into his from behind and a moment later they both tumbled into a heap against the wall. Teddy's head cracked against the wall as he landed and a small cry escaped him.

Footsteps again, the creatures were headed in their direction and the lads shuffled backwards, their backs pressed tightly against the wall; helpless against the oncoming creatures.

Teddy thought he saw something leap through the darkness and Dorado suddenly gave an awful yell. He still couldn't see, but he could tell by the sounds that his friend was under attack. Teddy leapt forward onto his knees and his hands encountered fur. He began pulling and beating at the creature beneath his fingers, his fear mounting at the screams of terror coming from his friend.

Teddy lost his grip and suddenly the creature and Dorado vanished to another location in the room. He could still hear his friend crying out, but now far to his left and he began furiously scrambling in the direction of Dorado's voice, unsure exactly where they were.

'Nax!' Teddy cried, 'Nax!'

But the only sounds that met his ears were cries of terror or perhaps pain, the high squealing noise of the creature and the sound of a fierce struggle – _Dorado_!

'Nax!' Teddy yelled again, his tone anguished as he crawled upward to a standing position and ran forward, his hands stretched out in the darkness before him. Dorado's voice seemed to be shifting again, and Teddy turned into the room, his hands encountering only darkness as he reached out in despair.

'No, no, noooooooooooo!' Teddy heard Dorado cry as the sound of his friend's struggles increased.

'Nax!'Teddy cried frenetically; his eyes started to sting and within seconds his cheeks were wet as he continued to move blindly through the darkness. He couldn't make out a thing and sounds of Dorado's struggle continued to shift about the room.

'_Lumos!' _Teddy cried again, desperately now, praying one of the wands would respond to his call as he continued to stumble forward. '_Lumos!' _and then he heard a sudden scrambling behind him and Teddy froze. In the next second he felt something leap onto his back and take hold, its claws piercing his skin. '_LUMOS! LUMOS! LUMOS!' _he cried in terror, unthinking, as he fell to his knees from the weight of the creature that had attached itself to his back and begun tearing into his flesh.

And that is when it happened. Teddy was in the process of reaching behind to try and extract the clawing creature from his back when he saw what appeared to be hundreds of mini-sparks popping within the palm of his hand. He felt the creature fly from his back, squealing loudly as if the sparks had scared him away and Teddy, now in complete shock, cried out and began wildly shaking his hand and then slamming it against his robe until the sparks were doused. Dorado was yelling the whole time, but Teddy didn't catch a word of the garbled words flying through the air.

Teddy scrambled forward on all fours in the opposite direction the animal flying from his back had taken. His hand suddenly landed on something hard and he recognized it as a wand. He grasped it, '_Lumos_!' he cried and light, bright and vibrant flew from its tip.

He heard Dorado let go of a fierce cry and saw something fly through the air, impossible to make out as it flew above the range of his light in the darkness.

'Nax!' Teddy cried as the sound of rampant footsteps scrapping against the floor sounded around him. He wildly shined his light all about the room, but as bright as it was, it barely penetrated the stifling darkness.

'Boots!' came a tearful sounding wail.

Teddy ran toward the voice. He heard more scrambling and then saw something launch itself through the darkness across his vision.

'_HomenumWaddawasi_!' Dorado screamed; a quick flash of light, another high squeal and Teddy saw what appeared to be the same creature flying backward again. _Dorado had found his wand!_

'Here! Boots, here!' Dorado cried frantically on Teddy's left. Teddy ran toward his friend's voice and crashed heavily into him seconds later. He felt Dorado grip him about the waist and pull him forcefully sideways and in the next moment they were both stumbling through the door way and back onto the landing outside of the room.

Dorado recovered first and leapt forward to pull the door closed with a loud bang.

'_rrrrrrrrrraaaaarrggghhhh!'_

The boys leapt together as the growl erupted from the far room.

'Passat,' Dorado said his voice shaking mightily.

'Let's go!' Teddy whispered frantically.

The lads leapt down the stairs, taking them three at a time to the floor below and then ran the short distance to the large oak door. Teddy tore the door open and ran through into the passageway, waiting only until Dorado had copied his action before pulling the door closed.

The two looked at one another for a split second before taking off down the passageway toward Gryffindor house. They cried out the password in hushed tones when they reached the portrait and then scrambled through the entrance. Once inside the common room, both fell to the floor, panting heavily and staring with wild eyes about the room, still terrified.

Seconds later both boys nearly jumped from their skin at the sound of footsteps approaching. Joven stood before them moments later, his eyes wide and frightened.

'Wh-what happened?' he asked with terror in his tone and his eyes moving over the bodies of his friends.

Teddy looked at Dorado and understood Joven's alarm; Dorado had gashes about his neck, welted and bleeding; his robes were ripped with long slashes and what looked like blood was splattered all over his front.

'Merlin!' Teddy cried, 'you're bleeding!'

Dorado reached up and touched his neck, jerking with pain at the touch and then moved his hand to his robe where there the blood was spattered.

'We have to get you to the hospital wing,' Joven said urgently.

Teddy stood up suddenly, noting his back hurt when he did so, and gripped Dorado's arm attempting to lift him up, but Dorado resisted.

'I can't go,' Dorado said, is voice twisting with pain as he eased himself back onto the floor, 'they'll know we went in there.'

Teddy frowned deeply, 'it doesn't matter, you are all cut up, those scratches…you might have an infection – or – or worse!'

Dorado shook his head firmly in the negative, 'no, we'll be expelled, I can't go. Extinguish your wand.'

Teddy looked at the wand still tightly clutched in his hand and saw the bright light shining from its tip. 'Nox,' he whispered and it went out.

'Teddy,' Joven said, his tone ominous, 'your back! What was in the room? What did this to you guys?'

'Creatures, I don't know what they were,' Teddy replied while reached behind him. He noted that his robe had been torn clean in half in the rear and his shirt seemed to be shredded. He too jumped a little as pain shot through him when he touched what felt like a gash in his back.

'You are bleeding too; you two have to go to the hospital wing!' Joven demanded.

'No!' Dorado said resolutely, standing up, his eyes crunching with pain as he did so, 'I have a solution in my trunk, we can put it on our scratches. If we go they will know what happened…we will be expelled,' he said in a rush of words.

Teddy stared at his friend and thought Dorado might have the right of it. Harry and his Gran would be furious and he would not be able to finish Hogwarts and become a great wizard…something his mum and dad had wanted for him so much…and the scratches probably weren't infected he rationalized…

'Okay,' Teddy said softly, 'let's go up and get your solution.'

'But what if-' Joven began.

'No,' Dorado said firmly, cutting his friend off.

Dorado grimaced as he arose and Joven reached to assist him. They made their way slowly up the stairs to their room and then quietly moved to Dorado's trunk. He opened it and dug around until he found a flask of blue liquid and pulled it out.

The three lads enclosed themselves on Dorado's bed and Joven helped them clean the scratches with a towel and water from their bedside pitcher. The process was painful and they worked in an anxious silence; both Dorado and Teddy were near tears by the end of it all.

However, Dorado's solution was a soothing balm and worked rapidly to ease the stinging sensation crawling across Teddy's back as Joven spread it over his wounds. He noticed that Dorado's face relaxed tremendously as the lad spread it over the gashes on his neck and chest. The marks lessened in intensity to a dull red, but they were still visible.

'I woke up a little while ago and you two weren't back, what happened?' Joven asked softly once the solution began working and his nerves apparently allowed for rational thought once again. 'What creatures did this? Was it the werewolf?' he continued in a concerned tone.

'No,' Dorado replied and then recounted what had taken place with Teddy adding in details as he went along.

Joven sat wide-eyed afterward, terror shining from his eyes for his friends, 'you have no idea what kind of creatures they were?' he asked.

'None; it was too dark to see,' Teddy replied.

'The weird way they moved…disappearing and reappearing in different locations; I have never heard of anything like that before,' Joven added, his tone anxious.

Dorado nodded, 'that was the oddest part; when I was trying to get the creature off of me, it would grab a hold and suddenly we'd move to another part of the room. It was scary, like he was apparating me or something.'

'I really think you two should go to the hospital wing. The creatures could have done something to you…' Joven said softly.

Dorado shook his head vehemently, 'if we notice anything, we'll go.'

Teddy nodded, 'you are going to have to wear a turtle neck to hide those scratches on your neck,' he said, his face lined with worry.

'Yeah,' Dorado agreed.

Teddy sighed, his face still a study of concern.

'Still worried about infections?' Dorado asked, his tone a little acerbic.

Teddy glared at him for a moment, but then sighed, 'no. What is bothering me is – well did you see what happened when we were in the room and that creature flew onto my back?'

Dorado shook his head.

'Well I lost my wand and I was crying out the wand lighting spell over and over and suddenly sparks or lights or something started jumping from my hand. Tons of them and they didn't go out until I beat them against my robe.'

Dorado scrunched up his face, 'sparks jumping from your hand?'

Teddy nodded.

Joven frowned, 'are you sure you didn't see sparks flying from the end of your wand? Sometimes I notice when I get really upset, sparks will-'

'I didn't have my wand, it was on the floor somewhere; I told you! All I had was my hand and there were lights jumping around on my palm and then the creature went flying from my back.'

'Maybe you were just terrified and seeing things,' Dorado suggested.

Teddy met his friend's eyes, 'I was not seeing things. I know what I saw and it was lights, a lot of white lights jumping around on my palm!'

His friends stared at him with something akin to compassion as if they didn't believe him, but had pity for him nonetheless.

'It is true,' Teddy moaned softly, 'and I – I got to thinking – what if I am leaking magic!'

Joven and Dorado's eyes went wide.

'Are you sure the light was coming from your hand? Maybe it was coming from the creature.' Dorado said.

Teddy shook his head, 'I could feel a little vibration in my hand too…it was definitely coming from me and I think I may be leaking!' he finished worriedly.

Joven's voice shook as he spoke, 'well to be honest, they say they saw a white glowing light coming from the people who were leaking magic in the Americas.'

All three boys sat staring at one another with fear in their hearts.

'You had better go immediately to the hospital wing!' Joven declared, 'you will need a potion if you are leaking or else your magic will all start leaking out and destroy something.'

Dorado suddenly narrowed his eyes, 'we don't know that it is a leak…maybe you just imagined it, Boots because you were so scared or maybe it was something from the creatures. But it isn't happening now, so I doubt it is leaking magic…I mean you aren't leaking now.'

Teddy nodded slowly.

'And if you go to the hospital wing she might see your back. It is pretty scratched, Boots, she'll know it took more than a fight to get it that way.'

Teddy nodded again, 'maybe I should just see if it leaks any more before I do anything.'

Joven looked like he thought that might be a very bad idea, but he didn't say anything.

'Tomorrow we can try to get it to leak again. You can scream or whatever it was you did that made it happen before and if it does it again then we can go to Madam Pomfrey,' Dorado suggested.

Teddy shook his head, 'I don't want to go to Madam Pomfrey. If I'm leaking magic she'll send me to St. Mungos and they'll put me in some ward or something so I don't destroy anything!

'They have a potion at least in America they do, I don't know about here…' Joven said anxiously.

Dorado looked slightly frightened by the idea, 'maybe it is something else…maybe we should talk to one of the professors about it.'

Teddy frowned, 'one of the professors?'

Dorado nodded, 'maybe it is a natural reaction for a Metamorphmagus when they are frightened or something, maybe your hand morphed into a wand.'

Teddy's face brightened slightly at the idea. That seemed reasonable; he didn't know all there was to know about his gift, he only knew that he could change his hair and body features. Maybe he had morphed his hand into a wand.

'You're a Metamorphmagus?' Joven cried.

Teddy looked at his friend and nodded, 'you didn't know?'

Joven shook his head slowly, his expression amazed.

Dorado frowned, 'he changed his hair color in the great hall, you didn't see? The people around us were staring at him all amazed; I thought our whole table saw.'

'I didn't,' Joven confirmed, 'that's awesome Teddy! And I bet that is exactly what happened! Your hand morphed! I doubt you are leaking because now that I think about it, the people leaked from all over their bodies.'

Teddy nodded; he began convincing himself it must be his Metamorphmagus state that had caused the sparks. He ignored the little voice that insisted that the sparks had been the first signs that he was leaking magic. He looked at his hand, '_Lumos_,' he whispered hotly, but nothing happened.

Teddy looked up at his friends, 'I was screaming it before…maybe that is why it won't work now.'

'Tomorrow you can try screaming it outside again and maybe that will work,' Dorado said, his expression still anxious.

Teddy nodded, 'if – if it does then we can ask a professor about it – if it is because I am a Metamorphmagus or – or something else.'

'I'm sure that is it – if it was you and not actually the creature or something. We can ask Passat, he knows all about different magical abilities and stuff of tons of creatures, he'll know about Metamorphmaguses,' Dorado assured him.

'Are you calling me a creature?' Teddy asked, his tone full of bedraggled amusement. He was feeling somewhat better, the idea that what had happened might be the result of his gift was taking hold as the minutes passed.

'Shut it, Boots, you know what I mean,' Dorado said dismissively.

Joven pulled the curtain open, 'we should go to bed; we are going to be too tired to get up tomorrow.'

His friends agreed and the three moved to get ready for bed.

When they were tucked into their separate beds, Dorado turned to Teddy in the dim light of the room.

'Hey, Boots' Dorado hissed.

Teddy was lying on his side so as not to aggravate his gashes and turned to his other side to face his friend, 'what?'.

'If it does turn out that you are leaking, will you destroy that fat, Wallaby first and then that Amazon, Charity for me?'

Laughter escaped Teddy's throat and he quickly covered his mouth with his hand.

Dorado began chuckling softly, 'just kidding, I am sure you aren't leaking.'

Teddy didn't respond. He had already convinced himself that the phenomenon was somehow connected with his morphing ability. He began wondering what else he could morph his body parts into and drifted to sleep imagining his body changed into a mighty dragon, blowing fire as he ran through the halls of Hogwarts.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning Teddy and his friend's spirits rose when he didn't seem to be leaking magic. Dorado wore a turtle neck and except for the gentleness with which both lads seated themselves in class, they showed no evidence of the previous night's adventure.

After morning classes they decided to try and get Teddy to repeat what he had done in order to test their theory that it was a Metamorphmagus trait. The lads went outside and walked around to the side of the castle, huddling together on the stretch of grass where they had practiced spells in the past.

Teddy called out the wand lighting spell several times with his hand outstretched in an attempt to make the sparks appear again, but to no avail.

The wand in Teddy's robes did respond however causing the three of them to laugh as it lit up the dark material of his robe. He took it out and handed it to Dorado, who requested Joven's wand and placed them all at a distance on the ground so they wouldn't interfere with Teddy's efforts.

'Try doing whatever you do when you change your face,' Dorado suggested.

Teddy looked at him and nodded, pushing the urge he used to morph toward his hand as he cried the wand lighting spell several more times, but nothing occurred.

'Blast!' Teddy said disgustedly staring at his hand as if it were all its fault.

'See, it was probably just the creature or your eyes playing tricks on you,' Dorado said.

Teddy looked at Dorado with narrowed eyes, 'it was not! I saw it,' he said angrily.

'Well you were probably pretty deranged in there,' Joven said lightly.

Teddy turned his glare on Joven for a moment before returning his gaze to his hand.

He screamed at the offensive body part, '_LUMOS! LUMOS! LUMOS!'_

All three boys leapt backward as small sparks suddenly began shooting once more from Teddy's palm. Teddy, having given up hope, was completely startled and quickly slammed his palm against his robe. The action sent the gashes on his back stinging a bit, but he barely noticed in the wake of the sparks that had flown once again.

'Gods!' Dorado gasped staring at Teddy's hand.

'Merlin's pants!' Joven murmured, also staring with wide eyes.

Teddy looked up from his now extinguished hand, his expression smug, 'I told you!' he declared. In the next moment however, anxiety was shining from his eyes. 'That didn't seem like it had anything to do with my being a Metamorphmagus. I mean, it didn't feel like when I change my face or hair and my hand was vibrating!'

'Let's go talk to Passat,' Dorado suggested in a slightly anxious voice.

Teddy nodded, 'I hope he is here; we don't have DADA today and we kept him up last evening when we were in the attic room.'

'Slughorn seemed to think he would be in today, maybe he has other classes,' Joven said hopefully as the three gathered their wands and hurried off toward the castle to find Professor Passat.

To their relief, the door to Passat's office was open when they rushed to a stop before it and the professor was seated at his desk. He looked up when he heard the scuffling at his door.

'Hello lads,' Passat greeted them, 'come in.'

Teddy noticed that he didn't look any the worse for wear after his transformation of the evening before. The three lads moved into Passat's office somewhat timidly and came to a stop in front of his desk. They looked at one another hesitantly.

'Teddy is leaking magic!' Dorado suddenly blurted out.

Passat looked up quickly, his brows creased in a deep frown, 'Teddy is…what makes you say that?' he asked, concern running through his quiet tone.

Teddy frowned at Dorado, 'we aren't sure what it is,' he added quickly, his tone chastising Dorado's assertion, 'I am a Metamorphmagus-'

'Yes I know,' Passat said, still frowning.

'Well today when – that is – I was practicing the wand lighting spell and all of the sudden sparks started flying from my hand.'

Passat's eyes widened in surprise, 'from your hand? Are you sure they were not coming from your wand tip?'

Teddy nodded, 'I – I had dropped my wand; they were coming from my hand.'

'I see,' said Passat.

'Do you think he is leaking magic?' Joven inquired in a concerned voice.

Passat frowned at Joven a moment and then his face cleared, 'ah yes, you were living in the Americas. That is why you boys would have heard of it. Well that is something that has unfortunately occurred to a few individuals in that country, but no, Teddy is not leaking magic.'

'How do you know?' Dorado asked in a worried tone.

Passat smiled, 'because those who are affected constantly leak magic unless they take a potion.'

Joven nodded, 'I thought so.'

Teddy stared at Passat, 'Am I morphing my hand into a wand?' Teddy asked, relieved to know he was not leaking.

Passat's smile broadened, 'no; I have never heard of a Metamorphmagus being able to change any part of their body into a working instrument or channel.'

'Oh; then what is it?' Teddy inquired frowning.

Passat stood, still smiling, 'well if it is what I suspect, it is another gift of yours becoming apparent. I believe that you and I should go and have a talk with the headmistress.'

Teddy frowned, 'what is it?'

Passat didn't answer, instead he walked to the fireplace tucked into one wall of his office and grasped a handful of floo powder from the mantle above it. He tossed it inside of the grate and hot green flames roared to life.

'Minerva?'

A few seconds later, the Headmistresses voice came through the grate, 'is that you Lycaeus?'

'Yes. I was wondering if you have a moment; I believe there is something that you should be made aware of.'

'Certainly, you may come up now.'

'Thank you. Teddy Lupin will be accompanying me.'

'Teddy Lupin?' McGonagall's voice held surprise.

'Yes, we will be there momentarily.'

'Very well.'

The flames died and the three boys stared at the professor.

Passat smiled, 'nothing to worry about lads. Teddy if you will just follow me.'

The professor walked from the office and all three boys followed in his wake, Dorado and Joven clearly intending to accompany their friend.

Passat turned, 'just Teddy if the two of you don't mind. He will return to you shortly and explain everything' he said pleasantly.

Dorado looked like he might argue, but the professor turned and started walking rapidly away toward the Headmistresses office.

Teddy looked at Dorado and Joven and shrugged, then followed the professor. They moved quickly through the castle and finally reached the large Gargoyle that blocked the stairs to the Headmistresses office.

'Seven Trolleys,' Passat called out and the Gargoyle moved aside and allowed them to enter the stairway. They moved quickly up the stairs and into the Headmistresses office where she sat behind a large desk, her face set and rather stern.

Teddy looked about him in amazement at the numerous gadgets and fixtures adorning the room and at the large portraits, many of which were mere backgrounds, lining the walls. One of them, facing the headmistress's desk, encased an old bespectacled man with a long grey beard. He smiled kindly at Teddy with a fondness in his eyes that made the lad do a double take before smiling in return and turning to face the Headmistress.

'Have a seat, won't you?' McGonagall said rather sternly.

Teddy plopped down in one of the two chairs before the desk and looked at Passat whose expression was far kinder than McGonagall's.

'What has occurred?' McGonagall asked.

'Well Minerva, I believe we have a budding conjurer on our hands,' Passat said, shocking the lad next to him as much as the Headmistress.

'A what?' Teddy blurted out without thinking.

'Indeed?' McGonagall said, looking at Teddy speculatively.

Professor Passat repeated the story Teddy had told him to the Headmistress and all the while Teddy stared at the professor, his mind exploding with thought. _A conjurer_ Professor Passat had said. Teddy was familiar with the term; Harry had told him that his father had conjured a fiery light in his hand on the Hogwarts Express when he was younger. He wondered if they were saying that he had that ability as well.

McGonagall looked at Teddy when the professor stopped speaking, 'so you caused sparks to fly along your palm when attempting the _Lumos_ spell?'

Teddy noticed that the Headmistress's face had relaxed into a pleasant expression. 'Uh – yeah I did.'

McGonagall smiled and sat back in her chair, 'well that doesn't surprise me in the least Mr. Lupin.'

'It doesn't?'

'No. Did you know that your father, Remus had the gift of conjuring?'

Teddy nodded, 'my godfather told me that he could make flames in his hand.'

McGonagall's smile widened, 'yes he could. He, like you, discovered quite early that he was capable of conjuring. However, he – that is – he never developed the ability to its fullest potential; he had so much to deal with back then you see.'

Teddy nodded.

McGonagall frowned, 'generally we like to provide guidance when youngsters show the capability as you have. However, your father, although never formally trained, did become quite adept at the art; he was a natural you see. Some people work decades to develop the skill and others never can. There are very few who show a natural talent for it.'

Headmistress McGonagall is also a natural conjurer, Teddy,' Passat added lightly.

McGonagall smiled depreciatingly, 'well I do have some ability.'

Passat smiled, 'she is being modest; she is a very talented conjurer, Teddy.'

Teddy's head was moving between the two adults, his eyes wide.

McGonagall tilted her head and regarded Teddy, her eyes soft, 'your father's…work load here at Hogwarts would not allow time for training.'

'Do you mean because he was a werewolf?' Teddy inquired brightly.

McGonagall smiled warmly, 'yes; he had quite enough to deal with so there wasn't time to fit in the extra training. Later, his brave efforts during the war hampered him from furthering the art; however, he was able to mature his gift on his own to some degree. Nonetheless, with proper training, the gift can be brought to its maximum potential.'

'Oh,' was all Teddy could think to say about that.

'What I will do, Mr. Lupin,' continued the Headmistress, 'is set aside a half hour each week during which you and I will work together to develop your art. In the coming years we may increase the time we spend together, however, I believe that will be sufficient to start.'

Teddy's eyes grew wide and then his face lit with a smile, 'okay.'

'We have so few naturals – perhaps one every fifteen years or so. It will be a pleasure to train you.'

Teddy nodded, 'thank you,' he thought to say. 'What will I be able to do with maximum potential?' he asked.

McGonagall regarded Teddy a moment before waving her hand in the air and causing a goblet to appear in it.

Teddy's eyes grew wide.

'It is magic effected without a wand; the ability to summon any item you know the location of. The distance from which an item can be retrieved varies from wizard to wizard. And of course there are other effects one can achieve, much like your father producing a flame of light in his hand.'

'Oh,' Teddy replied, his tone filled with awe.

'Over time we will find your boundaries; we will start training immediately.'

'Thank you,' Teddy repeated, not knowing quite what to say.

'Not at all; as I said, I am happy to pass on the knowledge of the art,' McGonagall said smiling.

Passat stood, 'well we won't take up more of your time, Minerva.'

McGonagall smiled, 'it was my pleasure,' she turned to Teddy, 'I will send you a note indicating our meeting time.'

'Okay,' Teddy agreed. He stood up and turned to follow Passat from the office, but stopped in his tracks and whipped his head around when a deep voice flowed from the portrait of the bespectacled man.

'Just like his father,' the man said, smiling afterward with the same kind smile he'd held earlier.

'Very much so, Albus,' agreed McGonagall.

Teddy stared at the old man in the portrait, his mouth dropping open a little. _Albus. _So this was the great Headmaster that Harry had told him about and who his god-sibling was named for.

Teddy smiled at the man who he knew had let his father attend school during a time when it was not allowed – a man his father had held in high regard. He felt a keen wave of gratitude toward the old man with the kind eyes.

'Th-thank you!' he said all at once, unable to hold back the words and then realizing the old man would have no idea what he was thanking him for.

The old man didn't seem surprised at all, his smile widened as he stared at Teddy, 'it is I who could never thank your father, Remus enough for all he'd done for the wizard world,' he responded.

_The old man had read his thoughts? _Teddy stared and the memory of the sorting hat returned to him. He began to wonder if all of the old hats and paintings about Hogwarts could read his mind.

Teddy smiled at the man who hadn't left him feeling slightly terrified as the hat had. He found himself waving as he turned once more to follow a smiling Passat from the office.

'Goodbye Lycaeus, Goodbye Mr. Lupin,' McGonagall said as they passed her desk.

'Goodbye Minerva,' responded Passat.

'Bye,' Teddy murmured, his mind still dwelling on the man in the portrait.

The moment they exited the staircase Teddy turned and looked up at Professor Passat, 'that old Headmaster – Albus-'

'Headmaster Dumbledore,' Passat corrected.

'Yes!' Teddy recognized the name, 'well he seemed to know what I was thanking him for! Can the paintings read minds like he sorting hat?'

Passat laughed, 'no Teddy. I too knew what you were thanking him for; it was written all over your face after he'd said you were just like your father.'

'But I wasn't thanking him for saying that, it was something else and he seemed to know just what I meant.'

Passat smiled, 'Headmaster Dumbledore was a very wise man, one of the most intelligent wizards in history; while paintings cannot read minds, I am certain that whatever you were talking about, he knew exactly what you meant. He was just that brilliant you see.'

'Oh,' Teddy responded.

'I think it is also brilliant that you can conjure, Teddy; that is a rare talent you know.'

'Can you conjure, Professor?'

Passat shook his head ruefully, 'no, I'm afraid conjuring is not one of my talents. We all have our specialties, but that is not one of mine.'

'You are great in the dark arts defenses!' Teddy declared.

Passat laughed, 'I do my bit.'

Teddy looked at the kindly Passat and hoped they were right about him being a werewolf. He was so nice to them, Teddy was almost sure they could talk him into letting them watch him transform.

Passat walked with Teddy to the main entrance and with a swift smile and farewell, the professor turned toward his office and the two parted ways. Teddy ran up the moving staircases as fast as he could to the Gryffindor common room to find his friends and share the news that he was a natural born conjurer!

When Teddy entered the common room his friends motioned to him excitedly from one of the tables. Teddy moved quickly to sit down and leaned in to meet their heads over the table.

'What happened?' Dorado asked in a concerned whisper.

Teddy smiled brightly, 'the sparks were beginning conjuring! I am going to be a Conjurer one day! I'll be able to make things appear in my hand from somewhere else and fire and…well all types of things. The Headmistress is going to give me lessons herself once a week!'

His friends gaped at him for a few seconds in silence.

'A Metamorphmagus and a Conjurer?' Dorado said with amazement in his tone, 'some people have all of the luck!'

'Well you can learn to Conjure too you know, it just takes a lot of work, but she said I am a natural!'

'Merlin, that is awesome, Teddy,' Joven murmured.

Teddy nodded.

Dorado smiled mischievously, 'you'll be able to conjure treats for us!'

Teddy shrugged smiling, 'I don't know, maybe one day. But seeing as I can only make a few sparks right now, it may be quite a while before I can actually conjure anything.'

Dorado sobered, 'too bad,' but then his face became animated, 'we have news too! Wait till you hear this!'

Teddy elevated his brows.

'Do you remember what McGonagall called Professor Passat in his office?' Dorado asked?

'Called him?' Teddy shook his head slowly, that all seemed so long ago.

'She called him Lycaeus; that is his first name!' Joven added excitedly.

Teddy looked at the two of them with a light dawning in his eyes. He hadn't heard the name before, but he knew the word Lycanthropy had to do with werewolves and Lycaeus was something close to that…

'Lycaeus was a werewolf!' Dorado whispered heatedly.

'Uh?' Teddy responded.

'Joven caught the name and it reminded him of werewolves for some reason and we looked it up. He was an old werewolf king!'

Teddy's eyes grew wide, 'he was?'

Dorado and Joven nodded.

'You have heard of the ancient powerful wizard Zeus haven't you?' Joven asked.

Teddy nodded, recalling Harry telling him the story of Zeus when he was small. He was a wizard that long ago had mingled with Muggles causing them to think he was a god.

'Well the story is that Zeus became angry at a Muggle King named Lycaeus because the king pulled a prank on him and fed him human meat at a banquet. So Zeus turned him into a wolf, but he kept his human mind. He was supposedly the first to bite another person and that is how the first werewolf was born!'

Teddy frowned, 'the king was turned into a wolf or a werewolf?'

'A wolf,' Joven said patiently, 'but the person he bit became the first werewolf.'

'Oh,' Teddy responded frowning, 'I wonder why Harry never told me that.'

'Because no one is one hundred percent sure that is how it all really happened. They know that Zeus was a great wizard and Lycaeus was really a Muggle king who found out late in life that he was a wizard, but they are not sure about the wolf part. But it is a fact that the king mysteriously disappeared shortly after finding out he was a wizard, so it could be true.'

'Right, he disappeared because he'd been turned into a wolf and went off to bite people,' Dorado asserted.

'Well that is what they think happened. But the point is, Professor Passat's name is Lycaeus!' Joven said excitedly.

'You think he is this wizard king from hundreds of years ago who somehow made himself into a werewolf instead of a wolf and turn young again?' Teddy inquired sarcastically.

Dorado clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes, 'of course not. But his parents were probably werewolves and they gave their son the name of the great wolf king of the past.'

'It is pretty odd that his name is Lycaeus…' Teddy said thoughtfully, 'Harry said that he wasn't sure if werewolves could have a werewolf by birth or if a person had to get bitten.'

'We didn't see anything about that,' Joven said frowning, 'but why wouldn't two werewolves give birth to a werewolf?'

'Exactly!' Dorado said confidently, 'it is only when one parent isn't a werewolf that you may not have werewolf children, like you, Boots.'

'I suppose two werewolves would have a werewolf child,' Teddy mused.

That proves it! Professor Passat is a werewolf!' Dorado declared softly.

Joven frowned, 'well it doesn't prove it, but it is pretty strange for him to have that name and he did come from the restricted room after the day after full moon.'

'And like we told you, we heard him growling in the room last night and during the last full moon too,' Dorado reminded him.

'There is also the fact that he was looking at you, Boots, when we first started his class and everything! It kind of all adds up.' Joven finished.

Teddy nodded smiling a little.

'Next full moon, we will not let him out of our sight the whole day, even if we have to miss class! We'll prove he goes into that room to transform when there is a full moon! Dorado said excitedly.

They were all smiling at one another until Teddy broke the silence between them with an excited whisper.

'If we are lucky, we can talk him into letting us watch him transform!'

At that moment Gessica Jenkins, their housemate entered the common room, hopping through the portrait entrance alone. Dorado stood up at once and moved toward the girl and his friends quickly followed.

'So you lied to Andrew about me pulling your hair, did ya?' Dorado spat, staring down at the petite red-head.

Gessica flinched and looked up at him, her large brown eyes carrying anxiety at being surrounded by the three taller lads, 'wh-what?'

Dorado narrowed his eyes at her, 'your friend Charity Charleston told me that you told our Prefect, Andrew that I pulled your hair and he said he was going to give me detention and not allow me to go to Hogsmeade.'

Gessica furrowed her brow, 'I did not!'

Dorado's tone became hesitant, 'you didn't?'

Gessica nodded, 'no, but I should because you did pull my hair!'

Dorado's face relaxed, 'I should have known your Amazon friend was a liar.'

'Don't call her an Amazon,' Gessica said, her expression filling with anger, 'she is tall, but she is not an Amazon.'

'She's not only an Amazon, but an ugly, lying Amazon,' Dorado snapped back.

'You deserve detention!' Gessica said hotly.

'I didn't pull your hair. Maybe it got caught on my sleeve,' Dorado said his tone suddenly evasive.

'You deserve it anyway for talking about Charity like that.'

'But she did lie and she is an Amazon,' Teddy affirmed.

Gessica turned angry eyes on Teddy and then turned and stormed away from them toward the girl's dormitories.

Teddy and Dorado began chuckling and Joven turned to Dorado with a smile, 'well at least she didn't rat you out,' he remarked.

Dorado smirked, but he didn't respond.


	7. Sons of the Moon

**The Amazing Adventures of Teddy Remus Lupin **

Deathly Hallows Spoilers - post battle. The extraordinary adventures of Nymphadora Tonks and Remus Lupin's son and godson of the famous Harry Potter during his seven year journey through the Hogwarts School of Magic. Adventure, Humor and Romance.

**A/N:** Thank you all for the notes you left! I have sent answers to everyone individually. Enjoy the new chapter.

**Note: **The war in which Harry defeated Voldemort is referred to by the wizard world in this story as the Freedom War.

Disclaimer: All HP characters, situations and entities belong to JK Rowling.

**Chapter Seven: Sons of the Moon**

**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

It took two weeks for Teddy and Dorado's scratches to completely heal as a result of their battle with the creatures in the attic. Both were relieved that there did not appear to be any lasting ill effects from that particular struggle.

In the interim, the class schedule continued to take up more and more of the lads time. Teddy and Dorado continued to do well in potions and Slughorn had made an example of them on two occasions, indicating that their potion samples were exemplary.

Joven on the other hand struggled mightily in potions; he appeared to be trying to break the land record on the number of over-boiling cauldrons achieved during a single term. The sixth time it occurred in the space of two weeks, Slughorn ran frantically to his table and kindly chastised the lad, remarking that it wasn't his fault; his family line simply had no penchant for potions.

When Slughorn left the lad with a fresh caldron and had run off to tend to another 'situation' a Ravenclaw was having, Dorado stood up abruptly and walked to Joven's table.

'I'm sitting here now, you sit over there,' he said to the lad seated next to Joven. It was Andres Depaul, one of their roommates; a French lad whose parents had come to England to work for the Ministry.

The lad looked up in confusion, his English was poor and he obviously hadn't understood.

Dorado signaled to his old seat next to Teddy, 'you go there,' he said adamantly, picking up the lad's cauldron and placing it on the new table and returning with his own.

Depaul got up and sat down next to Teddy who was looking at his friend with a frown,

'What are you doing, Nax?' Teddy asked.

'I'm tired of hearing about Jojo's family of poor potion makers and watching his cauldrons blow up.' Dorado answered.

'I don't know why my cauldrons explode,' Joven said a little mournfully, 'I follow the book.'

'I know why,' Dorado assured him, 'because you are lame at potions.'

'Just because-' Joven began hotly.

But Dorado cut him off, 'look Jojo, you get all the praise in transfigurations and charms, but you suck in potions. Just shut it and let me help you.'

Joven looked like he was on the point of making a mean retort, but Slughorn looked over frowning at that moment and the boys quickly set about their work.

Teddy used mostly hand signals to communicate with Andres as he did in their dorm room. His French was as poor as Andres' English; he knew only a few words he'd picked up listening to Fleur teaching to her daughter Victoire when he visited his adopted family at the Burrows.

Teddy heard Dorado and Joven softly arguing almost non-stop during potions over the next week, but by the weeks end, Joven's cauldrons had stopped exploding and his flask on that Thursday received the highest mark he'd gotten to date - acceptable.

The next day, Teddy and his friends were seated in the Great Hall for breakfast. It had been three weeks since Teddy had found out about his conjuring abilities and he was excited to finally receive a note from Headmistress McGonagall indicating that their conjuring lessons would begin the next week; Monday evening at seven o' clock.

Teddy was eager to begin and began animatedly discussing the news with his friends. His incessant chatter was halted when Hedwig arrived with a letter and package from home. Harry had sent more treats and a letter. Not that Teddy was short on treats; the Weasleys and his Gran had just sent treats with letters the day before. After opening the box so his friends could dig in, Teddy leaned back in his chair and read the letter.

'Harry is working for the ministry now,' Teddy commented to his friends, 'he is going to help head the Auror department.'

'Being an Auror would be wicked,' Dorado mused, 'they get to perform the unforgivable curses that Passat told us about everyday against dark wizards.'

'They do not,' Joven said pulling a face at his friend, 'they send everyone to Azkaban.'

Dorado shrugged, 'sometimes, but I imagine other times they are out chasing horrible dark wizards and they have to zing um with the Avada Kedavra.'

Teddy laughed, 'you think?'

Dorado grinned.

'I have to write Harry and tell him I am starting the conjuring lessons,' Teddy thought out loud.

'Can your godfather conjure?' Dorado asked.

'Nope,' Teddy replied.

'Well you are going to be greater than Harry the Hero then,' Dorado said, stuffing a forkful of eggs into his mouth.

Teddy rolled his eyes, 'making a pumpkin pasty appear in my hand doesn't mean I would be able to take out some crazy dark wizard.'

'You never know; maybe you could conjure a sword and rip his heart out like in Super Magical Games,' Joven said.

Teddy and Dorado laughed.

'That reminds me,' Teddy said, 'are you staying here for Christmas, Jojo?'

Joven looked up and nodded, 'yeah, my parents can't come home for Christmas so I am staying here. They supposedly have a big dinner and stuff and I can still get all my presents from my family.'

Teddy nodded dismissively, 'well Harry said you can come and stay with us at the Burrows if you like. It is a big like farm house where part of my family live; there is lots to do and we'd have a blast!'

Joven smiled broadly, 'really?' he asked excitedly, 'that would be wicked!'

Teddy was smiling as well, 'write your parents and ask if it is all right for you to come.'

Joven frowned a bit, nodding.

'We'd better go or we'll be late for DADA,' Dorado interjected.

The lads stood up quickly and headed for the common room to grab their school bags. When they entered the portrait, they scrambled for the stairs at the same time that Charity, Gessica and Taquai were headed out for class.

Dorado and Charity crashed into one another's sides, causing both to stagger sideways and Charity's large black framed glasses flew onto the ground. It was difficult for Teddy to say who had bumped into whom he felt it was likely they had both made the attempt to knock the other out of the way.

In the next instant, Dorado stepped right on top of the glasses while attempting to regain his balance.

Charity and Dorado stared at the broken glasses for a moment before she looked up with angry eyes, 'you smashed my glasses, you idiot!'

'Good thing because they made you look like a bug-eyed beetle,' Dorado retorted.

Their Prefect Andrew was seated in the room and stood up at once, 'what is going on here?' he asked sternly.

'That stupid boy stepped on my glasses and broke them!' Charity said angrily.

'The Amazon knocked me over and her glasses flew off! It's not my fault that they landed under my foot!' Dorado shot back.

'How could my-' began Charity.

But the Prefect cut her off, 'if the two of you don't knock it off, the common room will be off limits to you both for a week.' He bent over and picked up the broken glasses. 'Now I want you both to apologize to one another!'

'But I didn't do anything!' Charity complained.

'Apologize both of you, now!' Andrew repeated, 'there will be no fighting in the common room and I hold you both responsible for inciting one.'

'Sorry,' Charity snapped, her eyes aimed at the floor.

Dorado stood in mutinous silence and the Prefect met his glare.

'Your turn,' Andrew demanded, staring pointedly at Dorado.

Dorado turned his glare upon Charity, 'I'm sorry you look like a bug-eyed beetle,' he said, his tone full of ire.

'All right, Dorado,' Andrew said firmly, 'if that is the nicest apology you know how to make, you can stay out of the common room for a week and spend time in your dorm room figuring out a better way to apologize.'

Dorado's expression was dour, 'sorry,' he snapped.

'That's better,' Andrew said, 'anymore fighting and I won't be giving either of you a second chance.' He looked at the glasses, '_Reparo!' _he called and the glasses reformed into their original shape and he handed them to Charity.

'Thank you,' Charity said softly and began to put them on her face only to stop mid movement, fold them up and place them into her pocket.

Dorado stormed up the stairs and Teddy and Joven followed. They collected their books in silence, Teddy and Joven not wanting to risk having to hear a tirade from their friend and then headed off to DADA class.

Teddy and his friends, together with the rest of the students in their class were doing well in Defense Against the Dark Arts which they all agreed was their favorite class. Professor Passat, always patient and kind, was a favorite of most students in all years. His classes were the most entertaining and the lads had come to find that he was an extremely talented wizard. During the course of his classes, quite out of the blue, Passat would perform magic with his wand that greatly impressed the young lads.

Passat was standing before the class with a large cage containing numerous small, black furry creatures. He began speaking in his normal soft tone once all of the students were seated.

'Today we are going to deal with the Truckle. It is a creature which tries to lure unwary wizards by presenting a vision of one's deepest desire or favorite thing, complete with sound. When you become entranced in your vision, it will attempt an attack.'

Passat moved to fiddle with one of the cages and when he bent to do so, Teddy noticed a scar at the side of his cheek.

'He has a new scar on his face,' Teddy remarked to Dorado.

'I see that; must have been back in the forest,' Dorado responded softly.

Passat stood upright again, 'to defeat this creature, you must attempt to keep a clear mind and look carefully at the vision presented to find a flaw. They cannot create perfect visions and you will see a flaw, at that moment you evoke the spell '_Detrance,' _and the vision will clear, repelling the Truckle.'

The students began eagerly mumbling among one another.

The Professor continued speaking right through the mumbling and the voices quieted, 'this is a very advanced lesson. Normally it isn't presented until the fourth year; however, I have decided to present it each year until then so that students will become familiar with it and have a better chance of defeating the creature when they reach the fourth year.'

The professor set them all to practice the wand movement for the _Detrance _spell, correcting their motion and pronunciation as he moved about the room.

Finally he returned to the front of the class, 'I don't expect that any of you will be successful with this today, remember it is merely to introduce this to you for future experience. Who would like to go first?'

As usual, every hand went up and the Professor smiled, calling the students to come up and try the spell in the order they were seated.

Teddy noticed that unlike the Boggart, he could not see the visions that his classmates saw as they attempted the spell. The students one after another merely moved forward as if entranced toward the little creatures. The professor would himself stop the attack by the creature using the _Detrance_ spell. Dorado and Teddy sniggered when Charity nearly stooped to pick the creature up with a loving expression on her face and had to be detranced by the professor.

Later, the entire class gasped loudly when the creature jumped out at Andres Depaul as if it were going to attack him. However, Passat sent a spell at the creature mid flight and it fell before touching the entranced lad. The class was so impressed with the unexpectedly quick action on the part of their professor, they broke into applause. The professor's pale cheeks were pinched with red at the approval from the class, but he merely spoke to young Depaul in perfect French and then carried on calling the rest of the students forward.

Teddy was the first of his friends to try the new spell and he approached the front. The animal immediately hitched its back staring in his direction and Teddy suddenly felt as if he had been pulled from the classroom outside. It was dark and the moon was shining down from the sky, a beautiful and warm evening, with pleasant sounds of the night meeting his ears from all around.

Then he heard it, the soft lilting melody that Harry had said came from his heart. It filled his senses and left him feeling strangely happy and calm all at once. He smiled and looked to the sky, turning round and round in circles, his hands akimbo as the wind passed about his body…alluring, intriguing, beautiful…

'_Detrance!' _

The word cut loudly through Teddy's vision and he slammed his arms to his side. A feeling of depression moved through him for a moment as he snapped out of the enchantment. He realized the professor had stopped his vision as he had done for others.

'You have to remember to look for faults in the vision, Teddy. Keep your mind clear and don't be taken in by…whatever situation you saw,' Professor Passat said gently.

Teddy nodded as he turned to return to his seat. Dorado passed him as he reseated himself and he sat remembering the vision then wondered why the creature had thought it to be his greatest desire. But his thoughts were distracted by Dorado's performance.

Dorado was walking toward the creature with his hand stretched out before him, his wand pointing at the creature. There was a sloppy smile on his face and he looked excited about something. Suddenly however, Dorado stopped and frowned, he stomped his foot and cried, '_Detrance!'_ hotly and forcefully and the creature before him flew backward into the wall and then lie still.

'Excellent Dorado! Excellent!' Passat praised as the lad came out of his vision state. 'That was simply amazing, I have yet to see a student so young have so much success with the Truckles! Well done!'

Dorado grinned and turned to rejoin Teddy at the desk they were sharing. The creature he had caused to fly against the wall began moving again and Passat issued a silent spell that kept it at bay while Joven walked forward.

Joven had little success as did the rest of the class and it turned out that Dorado alone was the only person to conquer the Truckles in their class.

Teddy turned to Dorado when Joven had finished, 'what was your vision?'

Dorado shrugged, 'well at first it was great. There was a king seated on a horse and he was motioning for me to get on a horse next to him. We were going to fight a battle together and save his kingdom. But as I got closer to the horse, I noticed it was _little _– smaller than the king's horse. I had no intention of saving the world on a miniature horse. I got mad at the king and that is when I remembered that it was the Truckle and I called out the spell.'

Teddy laughed, 'you were brilliant, Nax, nobody is able to do it.'

Dorado shrugged, 'stupid Truckle should have known better than to supply me with such a small, pitiful horse. What was your vision?'

Teddy frowned, 'nothing really; I was just outside and there was music playing and it just felt really good to be there. But I didn't see anything wrong about it all, just felt great.'

Dorado made a face, 'music outside? So that is why you were twirling around with your arms all stretched out. That was your deepest desire?'

Teddy laughed and shrugged, 'beats me; I didn't understand what it meant, but it was…kind of wicked in a way. Anyway the dumb Truckle got one over on me.'

Both Joven and Dorado laughed and then Joven leaned over, 'I was heading off to ride a huge bull; I didn't notice anything wrong either. If Passat hadn't detranced the Truckle I would have been attacked for sure.'

'I rule,' Dorado said smugly.

'A ruling fool,' corrected Teddy.

'Jealous,' Dorado retorted grinning.

'More like pity,' was Joven's rejoinder before he and Teddy broke into quiet laughter.

The lads stopped speaking then as the last student sat down after failing with the Truckle and Passat brought the class to a close.

Teddy and his friends left the class on a high note as usual; praising Passat and vilifying Sprout in comparison as they walked toward Herbology class.

The first year students as one agreed that Professor Sprout's class was their least favorite professor. She had taken to snapping at the students on the merest pretense and due to her advanced age, seemed to lack any patience whatsoever in dealing with them. She was hard of hearing at times and Teddy got the feeling that most of the time, she was so bored she simply didn't pay attention to them. And yet even they had to admit that when a student showed an interest in Herbology, she would be kind, attentive and quite joyful. However, since that didn't include Teddy, Dorado or Joven, their young minds were not very impressed.

* * *

The next day the boys arose early. It was Hogsmeade weekend and Teddy and Dorado were excited from the moment they awoke. Joven made a poor attempt to look happy for them and both of his friends constantly assured him they would bring back lots of treats – in between talking about the excitement of going.

Teddy and Dorado fairly ran along the trail to the village and animatedly walked along the main street of Hogsmeade when they arrived. They stopped to stare in all of the windows as they passed the various shops. Since the war, a dozen or more new shops had opened up for business and each had a lively window display.

They passed two seventh year lads who had jinxed a classmate of theirs, causing him to do back flips on the street. A small crowd had gathered to watch and everyone was laughing, including the back flipping lad. Teddy and Dorado laughed as they passed and one of the pranksters looked at Dorado.

'Go for a flip?' he asked.

Dorado shook his head in the negative, but the young man sent the jinx anyway and Dorado's body was flung into the air, tumbling over itself backward as he flew screaming through the air.

Teddy stood laughing together with many others in the crowd at his friend.

Dorado gave Teddy a quick glance of venom before turning his glare on the jinxer.

'Now, now lad, don't get upset! You are at Hogwarts, these things happen.'

Dorado pulled out his wand.

The older boy laughed, '_Expelliarmus!_' he cried and Dorado's wand flew from his hand and twirled through the air toward the jinxer. He deftly caught it and then continued laughing at Dorado. 'It's a tradition here, just enjoy yourself; nothing to get angry about…watch.'

The older lad aimed his wand at another older-student bystander and flipped him. The bystander screamed much like Dorado, but afterward simply made a crude gesture while smiling at the older boy before walking away.

Many were laughing again, this time, including Dorado.

'See, no harm no foul,' the older boy said, still laughing. He tossed Dorado his wand back.

Dorado caught it and tucked it away, signaling with his head for Teddy to follow.

'Seems to me the older you get, the stupider you get,' Dorado said. But a small smile rested across his features.

'Why don't we go to Honeydukes first and stock up on sweets, then we can go look in other stores and get ice cream last so we can take one back to Joven,' Teddy suggested.

Dorado looked a little put out, 'I've been waiting for ice cream all week!'

Teddy rolled his eyes and without his friend's permission walked him into the sweet shop. The first thing they noticed was Mirk Wallaby and his friends standing to the side of the room laughing together.

'Ugh, wish I knew that back flip jinx,' Dorado moaned.

Teddy laughed and moved quickly to start loading up a bag with sweets. They gathered enough for an army and then carried their treats to the counter. Their housemate, Gessica was the only one ahead of them in line. The attendant was staring at her and she was flushing, her hands moving about her robes as she searched for something.

A few more joined the line behind Teddy and Dorado.

'What is taking so long,' Dorado asked impatiently.

Laughter rang out from Mirk Wallaby's group once more, still huddled at the side of the room.

Gessica glanced back at Dorado, then at the laughing group of lads, flushed an even deeper shade of red and then looked pitifully up at the attendant. 'I seem to have dropped my money,' she said in a small embarrassed voice.

'Well you can't have sweets for free, young lady, I am sorry,' said the attendant curtly, 'next!'

More laughter from the side of the room and Teddy began searching in his pocket. However, before he could pull out money, Dorado had reached around Gessica and placed a few galleons on the counter.

'I'll pay for hers,' Dorado said.

The laughter at the side of the room stopped and Gessica turned huge brown eyes on Dorado, 'thank you,' she said as quietly as she had spoken before.

'No need to thank me, just take your candy and go so we can buy ours,' Dorado said dismissively.

Gessica hesitated a moment before she pulled her bad of sweets from the counter and then turned to leave the store.

'That was right nice of you lad,' the attendant said, taking Dorado's bag to add up his purchases.

'What a nice little boy,' mimicked one of the second year boys at the side of the room. His friends burst out in raucous laughter at the remark.

Teddy and Dorado looked over at the group, but the attendant called their attention again regarding the purchases. They paid for their things and then turned to leave the shop. As they exited the building, Wallaby's gang was right behind them.

Teddy felt Dorado tense next to him and he knew at once that his friend was very likely to start something between them and the older boys. He quickly grabbed Dorado's arm and led him down the street.

'George is expecting us at the Joke Shop, let's go there next,' he said hurriedly.

Dorado didn't resist, but he turned to look behind at the older boys who stood at the front of the shop with a glint in his eyes before complying.

Teddy led Dorado to the counter of George's shop and spoke with the attendant.

'Hi,' Teddy greeted the young man, 'is George here?'

The attendant who was packing up purchases for a customer frowned, 'he is busy in the backroom,' he responded briskly.

Teddy ignored the attendant's cursory attitude, 'can you tell him Teddy is here to see him?'

The attendant finally looked at Teddy, 'Teddy? Why should I do that? George is a very busy man; he owns the shop you know.'

Teddy nodded, 'I know, he is expecting me.'

The attendant looked disgruntled, 'he didn't mention it to me. You will have to wait,' he said curtly and then assisted two more customers before he finally retreated to a rear room.

Moments later the familiar figure of George Weasley came flying from the back room, 'Teddy!' he cried happily. He raced forward and captured the lad in a hug.

'Hi George!' Teddy replied, hugging him just as fervently in return.

'It is so good to see you lad, I have been expecting you! Come with me.' He released the lad and started off for the back room.

Teddy and Dorado followed and the attendant glared at them as they passed.

'What's up with him?' Dorado asked Teddy of the attendant, who was glaring at the lads.

Teddy shrugged, 'dunno.'

George's backroom was huge and a myriad of objects lined the many shelves and tables in the room.

'I've got a box all prepared for you, Teddy,' George said excitedly. He moved to one side of the room and pulled an extremely large box from a shelf then turned back toward Teddy. He started when his eyes fell upon Dorado.

'Oh! You've brought a friend.'

Teddy smiled, 'yeah, this is my friend Dorado; he's in Gryffindor with me.'

'Ah, a little buddy, eh? Well that is terrific.' George put the box down and moved to stand before Dorado, sticking his hand out, 'George Weasley, and glad to meet you.'

'Dorado Malfoy,' Dorado said, shaking George's hand.

'Malfoy did you say?'

Dorado nodded.

'In Gryffindor did you say?' asked George with a little surprise running through his tone.

Dorado grinned, 'yup.'

George's mouth opened in a wide smile, 'well, well, now that is surprising, I was in school with a Malfoy…Draco; must a relation of yours.'

Dorado nodded, 'my brother.'

'Your…your brother?' George's expression puzzled, 'then you're the son of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy?'

Dorado nodded again, still grinning.

'Well, well,' George chuckled, 'been years since Gryffindor house captured a born-for Slytherin lad. Don't imagine your family was too happy about that!' he remarked jovially.

Dorado's grin escalated into a huge smile, 'nope!'

George laughed, 'a lad after my own heart!' he turned back to the table, 'this box is full of numerous pastilles, pasties, beans, and other items! Top of the line every bit of it and I've given you enough to supply all of Hogwarts for a spell.'

Teddy's expression was bemused as he regarded the wrapped box.

'As I told you, when I was at Hogwarts, my beloved twin and I took it upon ourselves to be the providers of a variety of items for pranks and mischief…not to mention getting up to a bit of it ourselves!' he said in a jolly tone.

Teddy nodded smiling and Dorado's eyes were shining with excitement, his tongue caught between his teeth.

George looked at the lads, 'so I am going to pass the legacy on to the two of you! You have a few good pranksters among the upper classmen at Hogwarts these days, but none of them have style. You have to have purpose and style when you pull a prank otherwise it is just a waste of time!'

Dorado laughed, his animated eyes glued to George.

George smiled, 'yes, I believe we have the perfect pair here; I knew Teddy was going to fill the school with pranks, saw it in him from a young age; in the blood and all that.' He looked at Dorado, 'and I think he may have found the perfect partner in crime!'

Both boys nodded eagerly.

'Right, then what you must do is sell as many of the products in the box as you can and while the first box is a gift, anything more you need, you can use the money from sales to buy more. Just send along an owl with what you need and I'll ship it over with a bill.'

'Wicked!' Dorado declared.

George's face became serious, 'the most important thing is that you must carry out any pranks you do yourself with a flair – that means nothing that can do permanent damage, have the purpose of good-natured merriment and more importantly, you don't want to get caught!'

Teddy and Dorado laughed.

George chuckled, 'we spent too many days in detention that were completely avoidable at first, merely because we made stupid errors – staying at the scene of the crime unhidden; admitting to our pranks for glory; that sort of thing. But we soon learned that the best pranks keep everyone guessing; they will be fairly certain that the two of you are behind it, but they'll have no proof if you carry your pranks out with style!'

His eager little customers nodded in agreement.

'Alrighty then,' George picked up the box, 'I give you this box dedicated to carrying on the legacy of the great Weasley twins!'

Teddy smiled brightly as he accepted the large box. He lurched a little under its weight.

'Too heavy?' George asked.

'A bit of,' Teddy responded.

George pulled out his wand and cast a spell on the box which grew inexplicably lighter in Teddy's arms.

'A weightlessness charm. Should last a couple of hours. Now then, mind what I say and use all of the hidden passages and secret corridors to make your getaways!'

Teddy placed the now light box down on the ground, 'Secret corridors and hidden passages?'

George looked startled, 'didn't Har – that is, don't you have a map of the passages in Hogwarts?' his tone sounded aghast.

Teddy shook his head.

George's expression became calculating, 'I see,' he turned and regarded his work table, moving to were a huge pile of tiny round bits of paper were gathered, 'well for now then, you will just have to act with caution. Get out of the area as soon as you can!'

'Is there a map of the passages we can buy?' Dorado asked, obviously very interested in the idea that there were secret passages in Hogwarts.

'That you can buy? No. However, I may be able to locate one for the two of you. It will likely take a bit of time though, so you will just have to be careful for now.'

'All right,' Teddy said, 'what are all those little round bits of paper?'

'These,' George said, picking up a handful and placing them in a bag, 'are Stink Me Ups; a new invention. You merely carefully place one on a person and they will begin to smell like a dung bomb. Can't get the smell off without a full shower,' George chuckled.

Teddy and Dorado laughed as well.

'Can we have a few?' Teddy asked.

'This bag I am making up is for you! But mind, you don't want to use them in class or anything because you will be stuck smelling the foul scent the whole time. Best used outside. Also I don't want you to sell these at the present; they won't actually go on the market until Christmas time.'

Teddy and Dorado were smiling happily as they accepted the bag of Stink Me Ups.

'All right lads, remember to owl me when you need more items. Everything comes with instructions so you should be all set. I've got a meeting in a few minutes, so we have to say good bye for now.'

Teddy moved quickly forward and hugged George again, 'thanks, George!'

George returned his embrace, 'thank you, Teddy for carrying on the legacy…one your father was involved in propagating as well I might add.'

Teddy nodded happily.

'It is great to see you lad and we'll see each other again at Christmas. Mind I want all of the details of what you two manage to do with all this stuff!' George chuckled merrily.

'Okay!' Teddy agreed.

'Thanks!' Dorado said.

George smiled as the boys picked up their things to leave and watched them with a look of longing in his eyes as they left the room.

The lads carried their burdens to the ice cream shop where they were delighted to find that they could purchase ice cream in stay-frozen cups. They purchased three of the cups and immediately headed back for Hogwarts.

When they arrived in the common room, Joven immediately ran forward from a table against the wall and excitedly accepted the ice cream and bag of treats his friends had brought back for him.

The three then ripped open the large box George had given Teddy and began sorting through the various oddities and rarities with absolute joy. George had provided them with a small storefront of items.

The lads went into business immediately. Joven turned out to be a surprisingly good salesman and soon news of the availability of pranks and items of mischief spread through the school. Joven was approached with orders throughout the day and Teddy and Dorado delivered the goods.

They found that they had to be more careful when following a late night delivery to a couple of fifth years after curfew, they were caught by Filch who, seemingly out of nowhere, suddenly cried from behind them, 'students out of bed, students in the corridors!' The resulting two hour detention mopping the trophy room wasn't fun, but both boys declared that it was worth it.

While in the Trophy Room, they discovered past awards made to their family members including James and Harry Potter's Quidditch rewards; several Black and Malfoy family members rewarded for things and Teddy even found that his father had been named for an award in Arithmancy in what would have been his final year at Hogwarts; Hermione and Bill were also included on that list.

The first victim of the Stink Me Up was tagged as Dorado and Teddy re-entered the common room that evening.

Dorado passed by the table where Charity and her friends sat and unobtrusively placed one on the tall blonde's back. A short while later, a horrendous smell began to fill the room.

'Charity!' her friend Taquai called out, 'it seems to be coming from you!'

Charity looked at her friend with embarrassed surprise before jumping up and quickly fleeing to the girl's dormitories.

Teddy, Dorado and Joven moved quickly upstairs, laughing all the way and then fell out on their beds bawling with laughter. Their roommates, Andres Depaul and a sallow faced lad named Kirk Bennington, who had become fast friends despite their lingual complications, stared at the three as if they'd gone mad.

Perhaps they had.

With their booming new business and heavy study work load, the lads nearly forgot about their curiosity concerning the attic room and the mysteries they had uncovered in the forest. Nearly, but not quite. Dorado had a penchant for musing over all of it at night while they studied in the library or the common room. However, they hadn't time to actually do more than conjecture about it all.

* * *

Harry had just returned from the Ministry where he'd been discussing his new role at the Ministry with Kingsley Shacklebolt, to find the house deserted. Ginny and Hermione were at the Ministry and Ron had gone to meet with George on business, so the kids had been left at the Burrows with the Weasleys.

It was Harry's intention to change clothes and then go pick them up, when their fireplace suddenly erupted. Fire calls were regular to his home; however, actual unannounced visits, even of the type where the individual remained in the grate, were rare.

Harry was shocked, but delighted to see the face of his old friend Dean Thomas within the flames. He ran forward and knelt at the grate.

'Dean!' he cried happily.

'Harry,' Dean said cheerfully, 'great to see you again. It has been too long.'

'I'll say! How is Luna?'

'She's great and sends her love. However, I am at the Ministry here in Chile and I haven't got much time. Communications are all being greatly curtailed here at the present. Nonetheless a friend here at the Ministry has allowed me use of his floo to reach you.'

'I am so glad he did, Dean. You know I met your son at Hogwarts, a fine lad.'

Dean smiled, 'thanks. Actually, that is what I am contacting you about. Joven, our son is at Hogwarts because the current climate here in Chile has proven dangerous for the children of those involved in the efforts to bring freedom to the press and communications.'

Harry frowned, 'I heard about that at the Ministry. While our Ministry is not interfering with the overseas affairs, everything over there is quite worrisome.'

'Yes it is. They have been taking the children of those fighting the effort hostage – not harming them, at least not yet, but naturally it is very frightening.'

'I can imagine.'

'That is why we sent Joven to Hogwarts where he will be safe. He only ten years old, but Kingsley and Headmistress McGonagall assisted us in starting him early, mainly to provide safety for him. The newspaper advocates are aggressive, we found out that he has been targeted by the group, you see, and they would think nothing of traveling to England to capture our son in order to stop Luna and my efforts here.'

'Well Hogwarts should be safe for him. I thought he couldn't yet be eleven.'

Dean laughed, 'not quite. We started our family early, but not that early!'

Harry chuckled.

'Joven wrote and asked to stay with your godson at the Burrows and Luna and I think that will be wonderful for him. However, only because he will be with you, Harry. We feel that being with you, he will be as safe as he would be at Hogwarts, but we thought you should be made aware of the situation before you agree to have him.'

'I see. Well I would love to have him here for Christmas, I suggested as much to Teddy. And of course I will protect him while he is with me; you don't have to worry on that front.'

'Wonderful and thank you, Harry. I didn't like the thought of him being alone at Hogwarts for Christmas, but we are not going to be able to return. There is no where in England he could go where he would be safe from capture except Hogwarts and anywhere he might be under your supervision, but we couldn't ask that of you of course.'

'You certainly could have Dean. Anytime he needs a place to go, he is always welcome in my home. Nothing will occur while he is with me; you can be assured of that.'

'Oh we have no doubt about that. They would be crazy to try anything with you in the picture, but they are crazy. They have been unable to penetrate Hogwarts, but we have information that they have tried.'

'Well he is certainly safe there and as a matter of fact, now that I am working for the Ministry, heading up the Auror Department, I will go to Hogwarts and check the security there myself.'

'Thank you Harry.'

'It is nothing, I am happy to do it. And rest assured I will do the same for my household while he is here.'

'Well, I should think they will have grave doubts about coming to your home; they know who you are and what you are capable of, but as I say, they are acting in ways I can only call insane at this point.'

'Well I have met insane before and in the face of a dark wizard to boot; don't worry about a thing, I can care for him.'

Dean smiled broadly, 'oh we aren't worried, we feel he is safer with you than at Hogwarts! I will write Joven and tell him he is allowed to join you for Christmas and thank you, Harry.'

'Don't thank me Dean; you know it is my pleasure to have your son here.'

'All right, and if you don't mind, keeping the fact that he is merely ten years old between us I would be grateful. Although it was legally arranged, Kingsley asked that we keep quiet about it.'

'Not to worry Dean, your secret is safe with me.'

'Thank you, Harry. I will hopefully speak with you again soon. Goodbye for now.'

'Goodbye Dean.'

Harry stood and stared at the grate for a few moments before tossing floo powder into the grate and returning to the Ministry.

* * *

The following week, the lads began discussing plans to follow Passat again during the upcoming full moon. They had also searched through several books in the library in an effort to determine what the strange creatures in the attic room might have been. However, they found no creatures described that could apparate a person or carry them at a distance quickly and determined that they would go and speak to Hagrid about it soon.

With just two days until the full moon, the boys were becoming uncontrollably excited about their plans. This only took a backseat to their new found enjoyment of arranging sales and delivering products of mischief and madness throughout the school.

Naturally, they used a few of the items themselves, mostly of the disruptive kind rather than against other students. They found that setting off dung bombs, shrieking wailers and the like was much more entertaining than growing the body parts or increasing the body hair on their fellow classmates. However, that could not be said of the rest of the student body who regularly used the items provided by the lads to pull pranks on their friends.

The lads had taken George's advice to heart and after their first detention with Filch, they had managed to remain discrete when pulling off and delivering their pranks. The second time that the boys played a prank on a student directly was during lunch in the Great Hall. Mirk Wallaby was making snide comments about the Gryffindor Quidditch team that Teddy thought of them again.

'We should put a Stink Me Up on fat _Wobbly _and shut him up,' Teddy declared.

Dorado grinned, 'have any on you, Boots?'

Teddy nodded and pulled one of the small papers carefully from his pocket.

Dorado captured it on a finger and quickly stood. With a smile for his friends he made his way over to the Slytherin table.

'_Wobbly_,' he proclaimed staring at Mirk Wallaby.

Wallaby glared, 'what did you call me?'

'_Wobbly_, isn't that your name?'

Mirk looked like he was on the brink of standing up to commence pounding on Dorado's face.

'Do I have it wrong?' Dorado said, his tone apologetic, he clapped a hand on the lad's shoulder, 'sorry, mate.'

The little paper had slipped into place and he quickly walked away toward the main hall. Teddy and Joven got up shortly afterward and followed. They stood just outside of the entrance in the empty Main Hall and listened. It wasn't long before a total ruckus broke out in the Great Hall and from the sounds of groaning and disgust; the lads knew that he smell had begun pervading the room.

All three broke out in a run, traveling up the grand staircase to the next level, laughing all the way. They had a bit of time until lunch, so they simply made their way down the hall so as to not be anywhere in the vicinity of Mirk if he figured out what had happened.

They were walking down the hallway past a group of offices, discussing what the reaction must have been like, when they were interrupted by the sound of a quiet voice behind them.

'Teddy?'

Dorado, Joven and Teddy turned quickly to see who had called and saw Professor Passat smiling at them.

'Hi Professor Passat,' Teddy responded.

'Do you have a moment?' the Professor asked in his normal quiet, but friendly tone.

'Uh – sure,' Teddy replied, glancing quickly at his friends before walking back to enter the professor's office.

The professor was just seating himself behind his wide mahogany desk, 'come in and close the door,' he said cordially.

Teddy shut the door to the office and moved forward to sit in the chair before the desk, staring at the professor curiously.

Professor Passat smiled, 'I suppose you are wondering why I asked you to stop in?'

Teddy nodded, furrowing his brow a little. A small surge of excitement began rushing though his belly; although he never said as much to his friends, he had secretly thought all along that Professor Passat would one day come right out and admit to him that he was a werewolf. After all, his father had been one as well and the professor likely knew that. Teddy had a feeling that was why he'd been invited for a private chat.

Passat laughed misunderstanding Teddy's slight frown, 'don't worry, I didn't ask you here to give you a set down. Quite the contrary in fact.'

Teddy smiled encouragingly; he figured the slight anxiousness he saw in the professor's eyes reflected a reluctance to make the admission to him.

Passat laced his fingers before him on the desk, and sighed, 'the fact is Teddy, you and I have something in common.'

'We do?' Teddy asked now more certain than ever the admission was imminent.

'We do,' Passat said quietly. 'Your father was Remus John Lupin.'

'Yes,' Teddy said unable to keep the smile from lighting his features.

'Did you know that he taught DADA here at Hogwarts for a year?

Teddy's smile grew larger, 'yup. According to my godfather, he was the best DADA professor they ever had.'

Passat smiled, 'I quite agree. I use his lesson plans as a guide, you know.'

'You do?'

'I do; they are quite brilliant. The notes indicate that when he arrived at Hogwarts, many of the students were behind in DADA, so he was instructing students from first to third years with the first year lesson plan. None of them had learned any of it because the professors before him had been somewhat lax.'

'Wow,' Teddy remarked.

Passat nodded, 'your dad was quite a talented professor; he left plans for all seven years. I never met your father exactly, but when I was a young boy, he came to my home.'

Teddy hadn't expected that, his eyes flashed as he met the professor's slightly nervous gaze. 'He – he did?'

Passat nodded, 'I was quite young, although a bit older than you are now. You of course know your father was a werewolf.'

Teddy nodded, his mind racing ahead. Professor Passat was a werewolf and his father had gone to his home when he was young….

'Well Teddy, your father came to speak with my father because my father was a werewolf also.'

Teddy's eyes were animated, 'he was?' he asked encouragingly, his mind concluding that they had been right! Passat's parents _had _been werewolves!

Passat smiled fondly at Teddy nodding, 'I didn't meet your father because my father made me wait in the bedroom room while your father visited. You see, my father hid the fact that he had a son from the world. He sent me overseas to France for school and when I came home, we rarely went out. I happened to be home when your father came and while consigned to my room, I tried to listen to their conversation. I couldn't hear them really, they spoke very softly; however, I was able to overhear enough to gather that they were speaking about the Freedom War.'

'Oh,' Teddy replied softly.

Passat nodded, 'well I don't know any more than that; however when he left, my father said that he was one of the great ones.'

'Great ones? Did he mean my father was a great wizard? I know that because Harry told me he was great with spells and dueling and he could conjure too!'

Passat smiled wanly, 'yes, your father was a very talented wizard. But he wasn't referring to only that. You see, things were not as easy for werewolves back then. Few were able to attend school or find jobs. Your father was very lucky; he had been to school and had worked, that was very rare. But my father was speaking about what your father had done with his life, his bravery in working for the betterment of the wizard world. My father had not been able to do anything like that you see.'

Teddy nodded, 'it is much better now…I mean werewolves are getting jobs and allowed in schools,' Teddy hesitated, 'and well, like you; you obviously went to school because you are teaching our class now.'

Passat's head jerked upward and he regarded Teddy with a friendly frown, 'I am not a werewolf, Teddy; like you, my father was a werewolf, but my mother was a witch.'

Teddy's mouth fell open and he stared at the professor, 'you-you aren't?'

'No,' Passat laughed, 'in fact it there is no documented record of a werewolf mating with a witch and having a child who is a werewolf. There are so few of us so one cannot be certain, however, I have a feeling that it would be a highly unlikely occurrence.'

'But…but you aren't a werewolf then?' Teddy said with surprise in his tone.

'No, did you think that I was?'

'Yes; I mean, I thought that is what you were going to tell me.'

Passat shook his head, 'no, I merely wanted to tell you that my father was also a werewolf. You see, werewolves have not traditionally mated in the past, thus there are very few children who have a parent that is a werewolf. I thought it would be nice for you to get to know another person whose father was a werewolf.'

'Oh,' Teddy said frowning.

Passat narrowed his eyes a bit, 'what is it Teddy?'

Teddy looked up and his dimples played about his mouth as he pursed them slightly, 'well…to be honest…that is, I had thought maybe you were a werewolf.'

'Really? Because my father was one?'

'No, because, well because I noticed you looking at me before and….'

Passat looked at Teddy curiously, 'go on.'

'Well Nax, that is, Dorado and I saw you coming from the restricted section the morning after the full moon and we thought maybe you went there to…you know…transform.'

Passat broke out in quiet laughter, 'whatever made you reach such a conclusion?'

Teddy flushed realizing that to be honest he would have to tell the professor about their going to the attic room. 'I don't know...that is...we heard the Headmistress call you Lycaeus and that is the old wolf-king and well, we talked about it and we thought maybe you were that's all.'

Passat looked as if he didn't quite believe Teddy, but he didn't press it. 'Well no, I am not a werewolf, but like you, the son of one. Although my father did not attend school, when I was born he was determined to teach himself to read and write. My mother helped him and he began reading some of the children's books about old wizards and legends and he came across the story of the wolf king. He liked the name as did my mother, so they called me Lycaeus.'

'Oh,' Teddy said, unable to keep a little of the disappointment he was feeling out of his tone. He had really hoped to watch the professor transform.

'They say Lycaeus was the father of werewolves,' Passat continued, 'the first to bite another man and from that the first werewolf evolved. But that may merely be legend.'

That reminded Teddy of what his friends and he had been discussing, 'can two werewolves have a baby werewolf cub?' he asked.

'There are no records at all concerning the results of two werewolves mating, but it is felt that their children would not be werewolves either. It is the mixture of certain microorganisms in the fingernails and teeth of werewolves that pass into a human and cause the transformation. So generally it is thought one must be bitten or deeply scratched to become a werewolf.'

'Oh,' Teddy responded, 'so how come you were in the restricted corridor?'

Passat frowned, 'some of the professors must go into the restriction corridor from time to time, not just me. However you and your friends must never venture down that hallway, Teddy.'

'Why not? What is in – down the corridor?'

'Just things that concern the professors, has nothing to do with the students at this point. Don't give it another thought and stay away from there as you were told to do. I don't want another forest-like episode from you and your friends.' Passat's voice had become quite stern.

Teddy nodded.

Passat furrowed his brow, 'I am certain I let the three of you off too easy for your behavior that day. It is very important that you follow the rules here at Hogwarts, Teddy.'

'I know,' Teddy said looking chastened.

Passat smiled again, his face loosing its harshness, 'but I did not ask you here to speak of that. I wanted you to know that there were two son's of werewolves at Hogwarts. Quite an incredible occurrence considering how few of us there are.'

Teddy smiled in return, 'is that why you were looking at me a lot in class the first couple of days?'

Passat nodded, 'I am sorry if it made you uncomfortable-'

'It didn't,' Teddy said quickly, not wanting the professor to feel bad, 'I just thought you were a werewolf and knew that my dad had been one…'

'Ah, well no. I knew you were coming and well, to be honest I have met very few other sons and daughters of werewolves and I was eager to meet you.'

'I've never met anyone who was,' Teddy said smiling.

'Well you have now. The thing is, your godfather is a very intelligent man and I know he knew your father quite well, so I am certain that the two of you have spoken about werewolves quite a bit.'

Teddy nodded.

Passat smiled, 'and from what I can tell you are proud of your father.'

'Yup. He died with my mum fighting in the Freedom War. He was brave and heroic; Harry told me. He died so our world would be a happy place and so I would be happy. I am happy and the world is happy, so I know he is happy about all of that in the after-wizard world.'

Passat chuckled, at the over-use of the word happy, but there was a fondness in his eyes as he regarded the lad, 'I know he is happy as is your mum and both are very proud of you in the after-wizard world. But they are with you also, in your heart.'

'Yeah, Harry told me that. I believe it because-' Teddy broke off suddenly.

'Because?'

Teddy dropped his eyes, 'because Harry told me.'

'Yes, well it is true, they are always with you in spirit, watching you and guiding your heart even while living in the after-world.

Teddy nodded, 'I know I feel them.'

Passat smiled a little, 'I feel my parents in my heart as well. My father also died during the war, but not fighting in battle; he died protecting me. Our house was set on fire and he managed to get me to safety, but…I was…he was unable to get out himself.' The professor's pale face had blanched to a greater degree and his expression had saddened.

'I'm sorry,' Teddy said slowly, recalling the ring of fire that had surrounded the professor when they were working with the Boggart.

Passat pulled himself from his memories and smiled, 'thank you. But that was long ago and my father was also a very brave man and I have wonderful memories of him.'

Teddy smiled.

'I have spoken with your godfather,' Passat said.

You have?' Teddy's eyes grew wide with surprise.

Passat nodded, 'yes, when he came to visit you I met with him in the Headmaster's office. He suggested that I speak to you and let you know that he and your grandmother felt it was a good idea that you and I talk when I felt the time was right.'

'He did?'

Passat nodded, 'I felt the sooner we talked the better. You see there are certain things that I wished someone had told me when I was young. I thought it might be good for you to know those things and your godfather and grandmother agreed.'

Teddy looked a little confused.

Passat smiled, 'the thing is Teddy, as you grow older you might find that you have inherited certain traits from your father much like the ability to conjure, but werewolf traits as well. It happened to me around the time I turned eighteen; I suddenly found that I could run twice as fast as I had been able to do in my youth. That is the only change I have noticed, but werewolves have other traits and any of them could be passed along I would imagine.'

'Other traits?'

'Like a good sense of sight and smell, a taste for undercooked meat, that sort of thing. I just thought I would let you know now in case you feel these changes coming on in the future; perhaps even after you leave Hogwarts. You shouldn't feel odd about it if it happens; it is quite natural that we would inherit these things from our fathers. For me it occurred later in life as I told you, but it is possible you might notice something sooner or never. I really don't know.'

'Oh,' Teddy said, 'but I am a metamorphmagus.'

'I know; that is wonderful.'

Teddy smiled, 'well yeah, it is cool, but maybe since I am a metamorphmagus I won't also have werewolf traits.'

Passat briefly inclined his head, 'it is possible, on the other hand you might. As far as I know from the research I have done, none of the traits are anything to worry about. I doubt you will find appearance traits such as hair growing from your body or anything like that. It is mostly athletic and sensory traits that come to fore. Again, there are so few of us, there isn't much information.'

Teddy nodded smiling, 'I wouldn't mind hair growing all over my body! That would be cool.'

Passat laughed, 'you are not a werewolf, so I doubt that would happen. However, your sense of sight or smell may improve, or your tastes for certain foods. Or you may run faster or leap higher or something of that sort.'

'Sounds wicked!' Teddy said excitement shining from his eyes.

Passat chuckled, 'well it is just as possible that you will not find any of this happening to you. But I just thought I would let you know in case you find changes of that sort occurring in your future.'

Teddy's head was still full of images of his body covered in silky fur, 'I have a photo of my father in wolf form.'

'Do you?' Passat smiled, 'what do you think of it?'

Teddy smiled brilliantly, 'it's wicked! He was an awesome looking wolf. He was sleeping by a fire and I guess my mum or someone took it.'

Passat nodded, 'They had just discovered the Wolfsbane potion around that time; your dad had probably taken some and was calmly sleeping.'

Teddy nodded.

'My father,' Passat stared out of the window and then stood and walked over to a side table and pressed a lever. It was a music box and it began playing soothing music. He sat down again before continuing. 'My father never had any potion; we could not afford it. So I never saw him when he transformed. He would go out, I am not sure where, and return the next day.'

'Oh,' Teddy replied.

Passat looked at him and smiled, 'but our fathers were brilliant, they got to have two different forms and well…two is better than one! Like you, as a Metamorphmagus you can change things about yourself as well.'

Teddy nodded smiling once more.

'Well that is all Teddy; I just wanted to let you know about me and the changes that might occur to you in the future.'

'Thanks professor, I think it is brilliant that your father was a werewolf also.'

Passat smiled, 'so do I, Teddy, so do I. You had best get along to your homework; you have an essay to write for me!'

Teddy pulled a face, 'all right. Well thank you for speaking with me. Bye Professor,' he said standing and moving toward the door.

'And remember you can talk to me anytime, Teddy, about any of this.'

Teddy turned and smiled, nodding at Passat. He grabbed the door knob, eager to get back to the common room and tell his friends what he had learned, but his hand froze in the act. The music box had begun playing a second tune and he recognized the melody…

Teddy turned around slowly and faced the professor. To his surprise the professor spoke first, as if reading his mind.

'Does the music sound familiar to you, Teddy?' he asked, his eyes intense.

Teddy nodded.

'Do you hear it when the moon is full?'

Teddy's mouth fell open, 'I – I don't know. I mean, I hear it from time to time, but I never thought about it being when the moon was full. I suppose it is…' Teddy tried to recall past occasions when the music had played for him. The moon had been full the evening before and he hadn't heard it. Then he remembered staring out of the windows the time before that and hearing the music…it had been full then!

'The moon…it was full last night. I didn't hear it then, but on the last full moon I did,' Teddy replied finally.

Passat nodded smiling a little, 'did you see the moonlight last night?'

Teddy shook his head.

'That might be why then. My research has shown that it has only been heard when the light of the moon is present.'

'Oh,' Teddy said thoughtfully, 'I didn't know it was a real song, I don't remember hearing it before. Do you hear it too?' he asked

Passat nodded, 'the night of the full moon, this very melody, if I observe the moonlight.'

Teddy's eyes grew quite wide, 'I thought – that is, my godfather said it was coming from my heart. I assumed my father and mother were…' Teddy's voice petered out and he flushed.

Passat smiled, 'thought they were humming it to you? It may well be something like that, Teddy.'

'It might?'

The professor inclined his head, 'we are not the only two who have heard it. In my research I found that other sons of werewolves have also heard the music at the full moon. All of them begin hearing it after their werewolf parent had passed away, or as in your case where the parent had died before or shortly after they were born, they start hearing it at a young age.'

Teddy stared wide-eyed, 'What music is it?'

'Oddly enough it is called, the wolf. It is the work of an old Muggle musician, quite famous among Muggles.'

'Was he a werewolf?'

'I don't know. Of course we do not have much documentation on individual Muggles; he may have been, I simply don't know. There is no real evidence that he was; but if so, it could be that he set the melody he heard during the full moon for an orchestra to play. On the other hand, he may have simply heard someone humming it, someone like us who had a werewolf for a father. I am still looking into it as a part of my research.'

'That is really…strange isn't it?'

'Very strange; those of us who have lost a father who was a werewolf, all hearing the same melody at the full moon? I don't understand it; at least not yet, I am researching the topic along with many other things about our heritage. The lore is that werewolves howl at the full moon from the after-world and their sons hear it as a melody. However, that is, as I say, mere folk lore.'

'Oh,' Teddy said slowly, 'it is strange because it does remind me of my father, or the way I feel when I think about him; happy and something else, kind of excited or something.'

'I feel the same way; I often play it for that very reason. It brings me happiness and animates me. It may very well be something like an inherited trait; but there are problems with that idea – I really have no idea at this point what provokes the music.'

'Maybe it is our dads!' Teddy said excitedly.

'Maybe so, Teddy. Werewolves, wolves and dogs often howl at the moon; they have such good hearing, some have suggested that they hear the melody as well and they howl along with it. As of yet I haven't found a werewolf who transformed without the potion who recalls howling to the music – but they only have a very confused memory of the wolf state when they return to human form. And of course those who take the potion retain their human minds and do not feel a desire to howl at the moon. So again, we just don't know yet.'

Teddy scrunched his face up, 'well I like the idea of it being my dad.'

'Me too,' Passat said smiling whimsically, 'not many would have such a connection with their fathers once they have set upon the great adventures in the after-world. It could be that we do.'

Teddy smiled, 'we are lucky,' he said, deciding all at once that the music was indeed his father howling down to him on the night of the full moon – even if there was no proof.

Passat's smile broadened, 'that we are Teddy; that we are.'

Teddy looked up suddenly, 'the music was in my vision…the one the Truckle made for me in class. On a moonlit night!'

Passat nodded knowingly, smiling a little, 'mine as well, Teddy.'

Teddy stared with wide eyes at the professor for a moment, 'it is? Can you conquer the Truckle?'

'I can now, but it took a long time for me to find fault with the vision – and the music.'

'Does it mean we have the same desire?'

'I don't know Teddy. It could be that the desire we both have is associated with the music but it means something different to us individually. I have always associated it with my quest for knowledge about my heritage, something I desire greatly.'

Teddy nodded thoughtfully, 'well I didn't really understand what it meant, but I do like finding out about stuff about my dad.'

Passat smiled, 'don't worry over it; Truckle desires can change as you grow older. Perhaps it merely reflects the fact that you desire to know why you hear the music.'

Teddy nodded again, 'I would like to get one of those,' he said suddenly, looking at the music box, 'then I could play it whenever I want.'

'That is a good idea. Of course you may come and listen anytime you like.'

'Thanks, Professor Passat.'

The professor inclined his head and smiled kindly.

Teddy left the office with the melody still flowing through him, leaving him feeling both serene and excited all at once.

* * *

Music: Sergei Prokofiev, Peter and the Wolf, the Wolf.

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	8. Christmas Surprise

**The Amazing Adventures of Teddy Remus Lupin **

Deathly Hallows Spoilers - post battle. The extraordinary adventures of Nymphadora Tonks and Remus Lupin's son and godson of the famous Harry Potter during his seven year journey through the Hogwarts School of Magic. Adventure, Humor and Romance.

Disclaimer: All HP characters, situations and entities belong to JK Rowling.

**Chapter 8: Christmas Surprise **

Dorado sat staring out of the window with a petulant expression and his arms stubbornly crossed over his chest. Teddy and Joven were engaged in a lively conversation about the similarities between Teddy and Professor Passat.

'I really do think that there is more to it than some trait you all have,' Joven remarked speculatively, 'I mean, since when does a trait make you hear music?'

Teddy nodded, 'I don't think it is a trait either; I am convinced it is our fathers howling from the afterworld.'

Joven frowned slightly, 'you think your father is still a werewolf in the afterworld? My mum says that everyone reverts to their original healthy state. That would mean before your dad got bit.'

Teddy shrugged, 'maybe, but that doesn't mean he couldn't howl.'

'True,' Joven agreed, 'and the-'

'All of this guessing is wonderful,' Dorado cut in abruptly, finally turning to face his friends, 'but do you two realize what it means that Professor Passat is not a werewolf?'

Teddy ran a hand through his untidy locks, 'sure, it means that he isn't a werewolf.'

Joven laughed and Dorado shot him an aggravated glance.

'What it means,' Dorado continued arrogantly, 'is that something other than a werewolf is in the attic room. Those creatures we found didn't growl, so it is not more of them in the other room. It is something else.'

'Could still be a werewolf, just not Passat,' Joven supplied.

'Well I want to know what it is,' Dorado declared, 'and I also want to know what Passat was doing in the forest the day we went. All of those centaurs weren't running around like mad for nothing, were they? And something _died_ in there!'

'True, something large going by the size of the puddle I stepped in,' agreed Teddy.

The three went silent when they notice that Gessica was approaching. She turned her wide brown eyes upon Dorado and placed several coins on the table.

'Thank you for paying for my candy, here is what I owe you,' she said softly.

Dorado nodded dismissively and scooped the money into his palm, 'did your money fall out of your pocket that day?'

Gessica shook her head, 'those stupid second year boys summoned it out,' she advised him, her voice a little heated.

'Mirk Wallaby and his gang of freaks?' Teddy inquired.

Gessica nodded.

'Well maybe you should get a little revenge,' Dorado said grinning.

Gessica bit her lip and stared at him warily.

'You could toss a puking pastille in his drink,' Joven suggested, 'we can sell you one.'

Gessica's eyes lit up a bit, 'how much are they?'

'Tell you what,' Dorado cut in before Joven could respond, 'we'll let you have one for free seeing as you are going to use it on fat _Wobbly_.'

'_Wobbly_?' Gessica laughed.

Joven looked a bit disgruntled at having to dole out free pranks; he took his job as salesmen and keeper of finances very seriously. He pulled one of the pastilles from his school bag and handed it to Gessica.

'Thanks,' she said brightly.

'No problem,' Dorado responded, 'and if anyone else wants to go against that group of thugs just let us know, we'll work out a discount.'

Gessica nodded smiling and walked away to the laughter of Teddy and Dorado.

Dorado turned to his friends again once she was out of earshot, 'there are too many mysteries going on around this school that they are trying to keep from us. I say we start with the forest again; there may be some connection between what is going on there and what is in the attic.'

Teddy nodded in response, mischief running about his eyes. Joven merely stared at Dorado with a far-away look in his eyes.

'We'll have to be careful; if we get caught again – especially by Passat – he'll skin us alive!' Teddy asserted.

'Nah,' Dorado objected, 'he's kind on you. That is why he didn't give us detention last time; you and he have that werewolf connection.'

'Don't count on it,' Teddy responded, 'he even said he thought he should have been harder on us when I was talking to him and he warned me that we should stay away from the attic.'

Dorado waved his hand dismissively, 'he had to say that; he's a professor isn't he?'

'What's all this talk about discounts?' Joven asked, abruptly changing the subject.

Dorado and Teddy turned and stared at their friend, not quite following him.

'The discounts for our goods,' Joven clarified, 'we don't give discounts! We are a money making enterprise.'

Teddy chuckled, 'we only did it because it is a prank against _Wobbly_. Don't worry, we'll still be rich.'

Joven frowned, 'getting rich is not the point. The money is my part of the deal; no more promising discounts or free items without discussing it with me first.'

Dorado and Teddy laughed as they arose from the table.

'We got class, Goblin,' Dorado said to Joven, 'you can square your accounts later.'

Joven gave him a disdainful glare and rose as well, 'it is important; if we run out of money we can't buy more and the business will fail.'

'All right, Joven,' Teddy conceded, 'no more deals without you knowing about it first.'

Joven gave a curt nod and followed his roommates up the stairs to collect their school bags.

'Besides, we have more important things to do,' Dorado said brightly, taking the stairs two at a time, 'between investigating the forest and the attic, we'll be lucky if we have time for any sales at all.'

Unfortunately, Teddy and his mates never got a chance to begin solving any of the mysteries through the end of term. The next day Teddy and his friends noticed that two strangers that had come to Hogwarts. One stood before the restricted corridor at all times and another before the forbidden forest. No explanation was given for their presence and in addition, Hagrid seemed to have gone missing.

The same morning the strangers had arrived, the Headmistress announced at breakfast that Hagrid's Care for Magical Creatures classes had been taken over by another professor due to Hagrid having to leave on urgent business. He would return the following term according to McGonagall.

The three friends had become immediately suspicious with all of the changes and were more determined than ever to discover what lay behind all of the campus mysteries. However, they were hampered by the new guards and the fact that none of the professors were inclined to speak about any of the changes with them.

In addition, their workload doubled and they spent nearly all of their time immersed in homework and learning spells and charms. They managed to keep up their sale and delivery business, but beyond that and inciting a few catastrophes about the school, they hadn't time for anything else.

Even the catastrophes had to be arranged to fit into their schedule; they used a door bulging charm on all of the 3rd floor classrooms that caused the doors to blow forward when students tried to enter for class. But as they had Herbology at the time, it didn't affect them personally – although they did stroll by the 3rd floor hallway to watch the students jump back from the doors screaming and yelling.

They had also used one of the floor sticking charms along one of the corridors causing all of those who tried to walk along it to get stuck and unable to move. Unfortunately, Professor Slughorn had been among those to be stuck by the charm and he'd reported the matter to the Headmistress.

Teddy and his friends believed that they were not suspected in the matter until Teddy went to Headmistress McGonagall's office for his first conjuring lesson.

The room was the same as he remembered it from the first time he'd entered the Headmistress's office, except that Headmaster Dumbledore was missing from his frame. The Headmistress greeted Teddy with a warm smile when he entered and so he was quite unprepared for the first words she uttered after greeting him.

'There has been an upsurge in the number of pranks taking place about the school,' she began once Teddy was seated before her, 'not only among the students, but someone has taken to tampering with school property – doors and floors and such.'

Teddy flushed and his eyes slid from contact with McGonagall.

'I don't suppose that you would know anything about any of that?' the Headmistress questioned.

Teddy shook his head.

'Well, if you come across the person or persons involved in inciting all of this new madness, I would advise you to tell them that it is only a matter of time before they are caught red-handed for their deeds and they would be wise to desist!'

Teddy nodded; he felt remaining silent was his best course of action.

'Very well,' McGonagall said then, 'we shall start our conjuring lessons.'

Relieved, Teddy met the Headmistress's eyes once more and smiled wanly.

'You indicated you screamed the _Lumos_ spell in order to cause the sparks in your hand. However that was unnecessary Mr. Lupin. Conjuring is quite simple really when you are a natural at it; all you have to do is learn to channel your desire.'

Teddy regarded the Headmistress with some confusion in his eyes.

'Let us begin with the sparks since you are familiar with those. To begin with you have to understand the nature of desire. When the sparks appeared what were you thinking about?'

Teddy frowned; the first time he had been scared out of his mind – but as that was in the attic room, he felt it best not to mention that. He tried to remember how he felt the second time and recalled that he'd gotten very angry and frustrated, screaming at the sparks to appear.

'Well I was angry,' Teddy replied finally.

'Angry?'

Teddy suddenly recalled why he was angry and realized that story wasn't one he could tell either. 'Nax – that is, Dorado made me upset while we were practicing spells and I – uh – dropped my wand in the middle of a spell and I yelled it and they appeared.'

'I see,' McGonagall said frowning slightly, 'well the same anger or passion you felt then, that is what you will have to capture in your heart in order for this to work. Give it a try.'

'You want me to yell the spell like I did before?'

'Yes.'

Teddy felt a bit timid about doing so in the Headmistress's office, but he held out his palm and shouted the _Lumos_ spell. Nothing happened.

'I think you are going to have to become a bit more aggressive with it than that,' McGonagall said.

Teddy actually began to feel a bit angry again, but this time at himself for not being able to duplicate what he'd done before. On the next try he shouted with true anger at his palm, demanding the sparks to appear and he knew that it had worked even before the tiny sparks began once again leaping from his palm. He'd felt the familiar vibration pass through it seconds before.

'Excellent, Mr. Lupin!' McGonagall praised.

Teddy didn't try to put the sparks out this time; he allowed them to continue and noticed that the vibration had begun to fade.

'Now, cause them to jump a little higher, this should be quite easy, just demand it of the sparks.'

Teddy blinked at the Headmistress in question, but then looked at his palm and shouted 'higher!'

'Again!' she demanded.

'Higher!' Teddy screamed louder, giving his hand a firm shake.

The sparks suddenly leaped upward from his hand, a powerful wave of sparkling white, rising almost to the level of his face. Teddy jumped up, knocking over his chair and began slamming his hand against his body in fright.

To his surprise, McGonagall began laughing, 'that was perfect, Mr. Lupin! You show much promise as a conjurer! Now I want you to practice what we have done today on your own until we meet next week. Try to encourage more height from the sparks and don't allow your efforts to frighten you. It is merely light, if the sparks touch your body, they will not cause you any harm. They didn't cause you any pain, did they?'

'No,' Teddy responded, still looking at his palm for signs of damage.

'Very well. That is all for today. Our lesson time will increase as we continue, but for now I just want you to practice increasing and decreasing the level of those sparks!'

'Okay,' Teddy agreed, staring at his hand.

'You may go now, Mr. Lupin. Fine work today.'

Teddy smiled and hurried from the room, taking a moment to look back over his shoulder at the frame encasing Headmaster Dumbledore, but the wizard had not returned.

Teddy practiced making the sparks grow each day with his friends looking on and found he was able to make them grow and shrink at will quite nicely within a week's time. To his dismay, McGonagall seemed overly interested in the sparks and over the ensuing weeks insisted that he learn to better control them. He found the exercise rather boring as he felt he was controlling them just fine and wondered how long it would be until he would be able to pull off a neat trick like making a goblet appear in his hand.

The weeks raced by and before they knew it, Christmas time was upon the world. Joven had been given permission to accompany Teddy and both were ecstatic. However, the Dorado had become a bit sullen upon hearing the news; he was to visit relatives in the North that he didn't have a liking for.

There was a school dance to celebrate the Christmas season, but Teddy and his friends had foregone attending, as had most of the first years. They sat playing Magical Chess instead the entire evening. On the day the term ended, those leaving for holidays ambled onto the Hogwarts Express and were carried back to the London Station.

The three friends sat together alone in one of the compartments, sharing the last of their treats from the term and talking.

'You two don't know how lucky you are. You get to have fun together while I will be pinched and chastened by my relatives all vacation!' Dorado complained.

'Pinched?' Joven asked.

'They always tell me I'm _cute_ and pinch my cheeks and then get after me about everything under the sun, telling me what I should be doing and that sort of thing. Absolutely boring!' Dorado responded with a huge sigh.

'It's too bad you can't come and stay with us,' Teddy said regretfully.

Dorado sighed again, 'yeah. I could ask, but I doubt they'll let me.'

'That would be wicked if you could come; even for a day!' Teddy said brightly.

Dorado nodded, 'don't count on it though, my parents will never let me come; they like the family together at Christmas and of course they won't let me out of visiting my stodgy old relatives.'

The lads let the subject drop and moved onto other topics until the train finally pulled into the station.

Harry stood with Ginny and their young son James awaiting Teddy and Joven. The moment they exited the train, they were both grasped in hugs by the waiting pair and little James jumped about them clapping with delight.

Teddy and Joven had said their goodbyes to Dorado as they left the train and Teddy noticed a woman he figured was Dorado's mother come racing forward as his friend left the train. Dorado was gripped in a furious hug, much as he'd had from Ginny and Harry. Another blonde young man came up shortly afterward and ruffled Dorado's hair; Teddy figured that must be his brother, Draco. He seemed happy to see Dorado and he noted that his friend seemed happier to see his brother than he had been when smothered by his mother.

Ginny questioned Joven about his stay at Hogwarts and Harry spoke to Teddy about his chat with Professor Passat and his conjuring lessons as they headed to the Burrows in a Ministry vehicle. They arrived to find the re-furbished Burrows bustling with people. A tall, dark man stood just before the door as they entered.

'Kingsley!' Teddy cried.

Kingsley Shacklebolt presently looked nothing like the austere Minister of Magic who graced the Ministry each day. He wore a pair of short pants and long socks with thick boots on his feet. His multi-pocketed shirt was oversized and he wore a fisherman's hat.

'Teddy Remus!' Kingsley replied smiling, lifting the lad to swing him around a bit. 'And Joven Thomas!' Kingsley added, lowering Teddy and picking up Joven to give him the same swinging treatment. 'Didn't realize you'd be joining us!'

Joven, who had only met the Minister in an official capacity looked rather taken aback at first by the action, but began laughing gaily as he found himself spinning in the man's strong arms.

Molly and Arthur Weasley had rushed forward to coddle the boys after that, followed shortly by Charlie, George, their wives and Hermione and Ron. There were children everywhere, now running toward Kingsley and demanding to be 'swung.'

Teddy moved about, introducing his friend to the adults and then carried Joven off upstairs to the room where he usually stayed. The Weasleys' financial situation had improved since the war and they had added a few new bedrooms to the house to accommodate their ever growing family.

Teddy and Joven were a little surprised to find Harry sitting on one of the two beds in the room awaiting their arrival.

Teddy smiled at his godfather and he suddenly zipped forward and tackled his way onto his lap, knocking a surprised Harry backward. Harry began laughing uproariously and clutching Teddy, he began to tickle him.

'Tackle…his…arms!' Teddy demanded of Joven in between incessant giggles while trying to pry himself loose.

Joven was all spirit and joined the fray, finding himself captured and tickled as well. Laughter ensued until a passing Ginny peeped into the room and began chuckling.

Harry finally released his charges and stared at his wife, flushed and smiling. His glasses were skewed and his hair unruly – although as it was generally so, that wasn't saying much.

'I'm putting Al to bed,' Ginny said smiling and shaking her head.

'All right, I'll be in shortly; I just want to have a little chat with the lads.'

Ginny nodded and left, closing the door behind her.

Harry looked at Teddy and Joven, his smile still in place, 'there are a few rules that the two of you are going to have to obey while we are here.'

Teddy nodded, 'Joven might get captured by the newsmen, we know.'

Harry frowned, 'there will be no capturing while Joven is here. But it is important that when you go outside to play, you stay within the grounds of the Burrows. You know the limits Teddy.'

Teddy nodded.

Harry's face lightened, 'good. As long as you do that, I will allow you two to play outside whenever you want. But it is very important that you do as I say.'

'We will,' Teddy assured him.

'Yes, sir,' Joven agreed.

Harry gave Joven a little hug, 'call me Harry.'

Joven smiled, 'all right, Harry.'

When Harry left, the boys unpacked their things and then headed into the backyard of the Burrows where the other children were already at play. Arthur Weasley was making a huge presentation of his newest Muggle find – a barbeque pit. He wouldn't allow either Harry or Hermione assist him, although both had had experience with outdoor cooking. Arthur insisted on lighting the coals himself and after setting his shirt on fire twice, finally managed to light the coals with the Muggle matches instead of himself.

'He makes it look really dangerous,' Joven advised Teddy as they watched laughing on the sidelines.

'Well it looks pretty hazardous,' Teddy rejoined.

'My dad used to make barbeques for us all of the time in the Americas; he never set himself on fire.'

Teddy laughed, 'Harry too, but Arthur always fiddles with Muggle stuff and mucks it all up.'

Joven joined his laughter and then suddenly stopped when a small girl came and stood before them.

'Hi Teddy,' she remarked brightly. Her tone matched her cheerful smile and her lovely little face seemed to glow with happiness.

'Hey Tori,' Teddy replied, then turned toward Joven, 'this is Victoire, but we call her Tori.' He turned to face Victoire again, 'this is one of my best friends from Hogwarts, Joven.'

Victoire smiled, 'hi,' she said, 'I'm ten and I will be at Hogwarts too next year.'

Joven swallowed and flushed, but he didn't respond.

'We were thinking of going over to the pond, you want to come, Tori?' Teddy asked.

'Can't. My mum and dad just arrived and I have to help my mum. She and Gran are making meat for the barbokey.'

'Barbeque,' Teddy corrected off-handedly, 'well we are off then, see ya.'

'See ya,' Victoire said gaily as she made her way back toward the house.

'Come on,' Teddy prompted his friend, 'let's go to the pond for a while. There are gnomes and frogs and if you toss rocks near them, they start leaping all over the place and chasing one another.'

Joven nodded in response, his eyes following Victoire as she moved into the house.

'What's with you?' Teddy asked frowning a little.

'Your – cousin is it? Tori – she – well I couldn't stop staring at her. She made me feel all…'

Teddy laughed, 'you'll get used to it, she's part veela, has that affect on people when they meet her. Wait until you meet her mum!'

Joven shook his head a little and followed Teddy as they made their way to the pond. The lads explored the pond and had fun with the creatures there and then continued exploring the area within the Burrows boundaries until they were called for dinner.

Dinner was a massive affair. Long tables had been set out upon which and incredible amount of food had been placed. Arthur's efforts with his new barbeque pit had been successful and there were mounds of sumptuous looking meat on grand platters.

Joven was 'exposed' to Fleur, Victoire's mother and after staring mesmerized for a few minutes, be was finally able to shake off her draw. He seemed to avoid looking at either her or her daughter throughout the rest of the meal. He did notice her father though.

'What happened to his face?' Joven asked Teddy quietly.

Teddy looked at Bill; his face carried four slightly pink marks which had faded over time, but not entirely. 'He was scratched up by a werewolf during the war,' Teddy replied softly, 'the same werewolf that bit my dad did it.'

Joven frowned, 'oh.'

'Yeah, all of the adults here fought in the war; did you notice George's ear? It is hard to tell, but it isn't real. It got taken off during the war and he had to have a magical ear put on. He can hear really well out of it – even if you whisper from far away, it is pretty cool.'

Joven looked at George, 'which ear?'

Teddy indicated with his head.

'I can't tell,' Joven said thoughtfully, 'looks real.'

'Well it is real – I mean it works like a real one and looks pretty real too, unless you get up real close.'

'I'll show you after dinner,' George called across the table looking at Joven.

Joven gasped a little with surprise; they had been speaking quietly and George was quite some distance from them.

George smiled and winked, 'besides I want a report from you two!'

Joven and Teddy smiled at that.

After dinner the boys ended up spending two hours regaling George with tales about what they and other students had been doing with the pranks he'd supplied. George laughed uproariously at the anecdotes, while his young son, Fred, teetered rather precariously on his knees.

Nightfall found Harry sitting before a campfire which Arthur had insisted on starting. It was yet another opportunity for him to experiment with his new love of Muggle matches. After wasting a pack, he finally managed to get it started and the other adults had then used their wands to build it into a comfortable, roaring flame.

James had fallen asleep on Harry's lap and Ginny came round and gathered him up to carry him upstairs to the room he shared with his little brother and little Fred.

'Come on James Sirius, love,' Ginny said gently, giving Harry a kiss as she picked up their child from Harry's lap.

Harry smiled; his eyes were alight with love as he watched them move toward the Burrows. He noticed that Teddy and Joven were finally being abandoned by George who stood to carry his own sleeping son to bed.

George, Harry thought, had looked as youthful as he had when they were back at Hogwarts when he sat listening to Teddy and Joven. Harry was certain he did not want to hear those tales himself – he was quite sure he'd be required to censor the lads for pranks they'd gotten up to and he was not in the mood.

Joven stood and with a word to Teddy, began walking toward the house. Teddy remained sprawled on the grass and Harry called him over.

Teddy stood up and moved to stand before his godfather.

'I was wondering if you might show me an example of the sparks you were telling me about – the beginning conjuring.'

Teddy smiled brightly and held out his hand, easily causing the sparks to ignite and then causing them to grow and ebb before finally extinguishing them.

Harry was smiling grandly, 'that is brilliant, Teddy! Just like your dad, I'm very proud of you.'

Teddy broke into laughter, half embarrassed and a bit proud of himself as well.

Harry suddenly pulled Teddy down onto his lap and forced the squirming lad to stay, 'so tell me, what do you think about the things Professor Passat told you?'

Teddy was reminded that when he had excitedly told Harry about his conversation with Passat earlier he'd left something out.

'Well I think it is all great!' Teddy declared and then with shining eyes he continued, 'I forgot to tell you, Harry, Professor Passat hears the same music I do!'

Harry frowned, 'the same music?'

'Remember I told you I hear music and you said it was coming from my heart?'

Harry's frown deepened, he didn't recall any such conversation, 'no…when was this?'

It was Teddy's turn to frown, 'ages ago! I told you I heard music – it was right out here in the yard and you asked me if it was beautiful music and I said yes, then you told me it was coming from my heart!'

'I – I did? I don't recall. You hear music?'

Teddy nodded, 'every full moon! That is, I didn't know it was at the full moons, but it is the same music Professor Passat hears and we both hear it when we see the light of the full moon!'

'The same music professor-' Harry broke off frowning, 'he didn't mention that to me. He merely said he was going to talk to you about his heritage matching yours and about some of the traits you might expect to have – like you told me earlier.'

Teddy smiled brightly, 'well he did. But then when I was leaving his office, there was music playing on a Muggle box he has – like yours and Hermione's, and it was the same music I hear on the full moons! He said it might be our dad's howling at us from the afterworld!'

'Your fathers' howling it from the afterworld?' Harry looked at Teddy with concern.

'Well actually he wasn't sure about that. He is doing research to find out why we hear it, but that is what people think it is. All of the son's of werewolves hear it at the full moon!'

'I see,' Harry said slowly. He was going to have to speak to Passat; this was odd indeed. He smiled at Teddy then, 'what type of music do you hear?'

'It is a song by an old Muggle who was a werewolf.'

Harry's eyes widened.

'Well,' Teddy corrected, 'Professor Passat wasn't sure he was a werewolf, but he could have been and the music is called The Wolf!'

Harry smiled at Teddy. There was no need to upset the lad, he thought, Teddy seemed terribly excited about hearing the music – and that it might be connected with his father. However his godson hearing the music worried him slightly – he was wary of unexplained occurrences – especially when it came to hearing things in one's head. That the professor heard it too and all other sons of werewolves only made the whole thing more mysterious to his mind. He reaffirmed his decision to speak to Passat at the first opportunity.

Joven came skipping out of the house then and stood before Harry and Teddy. Harry finally released Teddy.

'There was a line,' Joven explained his long absence.

Harry and Teddy laughed.

'Always a line around here,' Teddy confirmed.

Harry sighed fondly looking at the boys, 'you two should head for bed; you can stay up a while talking, but keep it down and try to get some sleep. You know Molly likes us to get up at an ungodly hour for breakfast.'

Teddy reached in to give his godfather a hug, 'okay.'

Teddy led Joven to their bedroom where they ended up playing magical games until the wee hours of the morning.

The days passed rapidly after that; there seemed to always be something going on around the Burrows with so many people underfoot. Teddy and Joven played outdoors quite a bit and even managed to squeeze in a few games of Quidditch in the yard. Harry, Ron and Victoire joined in the fun – adults against the kids – while Ginny usually stood coaching the young ones from the side. She watched them longingly as if she would like nothing more than to join in, but her pregnancy was too far advanced for her to do so.

It took Joven a while before he was able to stop looking at Victoire and pay attention, but soon they were all flying like mad about the garden, enjoying the competition.

Within no time at all, Christmas day burst upon the Burrows and Joven and Teddy awoke to mounds of presents at their feet. Joven was a little surprised; he expected presents from his parents and Muggle relatives, but the dozen extra gifts from those at the Burrows left his mouth agape.

Teddy was thrilled to find that Harry had purchased a new model broom for him and double surprised that Joven had received the same gift from his godfather. Hermione had supplied them both with books on magical lore which they quickly put aside to open gifts from Ron and George from the Joke shop. Molly and Arthur, Bill and Fleur, Charlie, Kingsley and a few other Order members had also showered Teddy with gifts and those named also had left a gift for Joven.

Teddy's grandmother had given him a variety of underclothes which were also summarily pushed aside. However, the gift that left Teddy the most stunned was also from his Grandmother. Every birthday and Christmas to his memory, Teddy had received a gift from his parents. His grandmother told him that his parents had left a scroll which specified items for each of those occasions through his seventeenth birthday. His precious father's boots had been one such gift and other like items they had left in her possession had been given to him on other occasions. Sometimes his Grand would buy books, clothing, keepsakes and toys that his parents had requested that she purchase.

All of the gifts were among Teddy's most treasured items and this year he expected the gift would be similarly special to him. However, it exceeded his expectations. It was a photograph of his mother and father. Teddy had many photos of his parents; unknown to him the photos had been taken during the Freedom war when both feared for their lives. They had wanted to make sure that Teddy had many memories of them. He loved his photos and kept them in albums that he looked at fondly from time to time.

However this photo was quite different. His father was holding him, a tiny child with turquoise hair, and his mother sat with her arm around his dad looking fondly at his baby form. All at once, both parents looked up and their mouths moved simultaneously. The message they spoke was loud and clear, albeit silent. 'Merry Christmas, Teddy Remus Lupin. We love you!' They then bent and kissed his baby form once again.

Teddy stared at the photo and felt tears stinging his eyes. They had never been speaking in any of his photos – at least not directly to him. A bubble of happiness was bursting through his stomach as the picture replayed over and over before his eyes.

'What is it?' Joven asked curiously from his bed where he sat among numerous presents.

'A photo of my parents.'

'Oh,' Joven replied.

'They are saying Merry Christmas and they love me…' Teddy murmured.

Joven pushed his way from his bed and moved to sit next to Teddy to look at the photo.

Teddy wiped at his eyes filled with unshed tears and smiled, 'every year they have left something for me to get at my birthday and Christmas – but this is maybe the most…'

Joven nodded, 'they look really happy.'

'They were; in all my photos they are happy.'

'You miss them a lot?'

Teddy inclined his head, 'I wish I could have met them; but to be honest I don't really remember all the times in the photos.'

'Yeah, you were pretty small.'

Teddy nodded, 'I feel like I know them in a way though. Everyone has told me so much about them and there are a lot of pictures.'

'Well you will meet them in the great adventure of the afterworld!' Joven declared, mimicking something his father had told him.

'Yup,' Teddy agreed. He placed the photo on the table by his bed, 'that is the best photo yet!'

Joven nodded.

Teddy turned excited eyes to his friend, 'let's go check out these brooms!'

The boys were made to eat prior to experimenting with their new brooms, and then they made their rounds of the adults, thanking them for their gifts. Teddy also took a moment to take Harry upstairs and show him his special gift from his parents. He noticed his godfather's eyes grew as bright as his had when he looked upon it. Harry had smiled and given Teddy a warm hug.

'They were wonderful, Teddy,' he remarked, 'they are terribly proud of you watching from above you know.'

'I know,' Teddy responded smiling.

The two moved downstairs together afterward and not long after, they found themselves in the garden once more with Joven, Ron and Victoire, the two boys flying on their new brooms.

It was noon when Molly called them into the house for a small brunch to hold them over until the huge Christmas Dinner that was being prepared. They all tromped into the house and sat to enjoy the small repast. The lively chatter at the table was rather loud and rambunctious; Kingsley and Neville together with his elderly Grandmother had arrived bringing more gifts and exclamations were loud as each was opened.

However the room suddenly went silent when the fireplace abruptly erupted. Harry jumped from his seat at once and moved to the fireplace.

'Who could that be?' Molly inquired, 'we aren't expecting anyone else.'

No one was prepared when a small youth with jet black hair suddenly stopped spinning and stared at them warily from the fireplace. He tried to step from the grate, however, he was knocked forcefully back inside when he attempted to move.

'Nax!' Teddy cried in utter delight, rising from the table and running toward his friend.

'Nax! You came!' Joven added, jumping up to follow Teddy.

Harry used his wand to cast a spell on the grate. A green light began glowing about Dorado for a moment and the boy looked about him with a bit of fright.

'It's all right,' Harry said 'you can come in now, Dorado isn't it?'

Dorado stepped slowly from the grate, nodding at Harry and then smiling broadly as his friends reached to clap him on the back.

Molly and Arthur approached them shortly thereafter with other family members close behind. Harry opened his mouth to speak, but Molly beat him to it.

'Teddy didn't mention he had a friend coming,' Molly said brightly, 'welcome to our home; I am Molly Weasley.' Molly held out a hand toward the lad.

Dorado shook her hand, 'Dorado Malfoy,' he responded cheerfully.

Molly's brows moved upward a notch, 'not Lucius and Narcissa's son?'

Dorado nodded.

Molly smiled, 'well I heard they had had a child! Imagine you all grown up already!'

Dorado nodded, 'I'm sorry I didn't send a note to tell you I was coming, but Teddy had invited me on the train and I thought it would be all right.'

Teddy shot a sideways glance at his friend, 'I did,' he admitted.

'But of course it is all right,' Molly said quickly, 'it is just surprising that you are not spending Christmas with your family.'

'Oh,' Dorado replied, 'well they have gone to visit relatives and they said I didn't have to go if I didn't want and that I could come here instead since I was invited.'

Harry frowned, 'you didn't want to spend Christmas with your family?'

But Molly interrupted before Dorado could answer, 'come along then,' she said, guiding Dorado by the back and shooting a quick admonishing glance at Harry, 'we've just been having a snack. It is getting close to dinner, so you shouldn't eat much now, but a pastry and tea won't hurt.'

Teddy and Joven followed Dorado back to the table where they sat while he consumed a light repast.

Harry was still regarding Dorado, now with something akin to sympathy in his eyes and appeared to be on the verge of asking him a question. However, Molly gave him no opportunity to do so; she questioned Dorado non stop about Hogwarts while he ate.

Dorado had a reaction to Fleur and Victoire similar to his friend, Joven. However, while his seeming attraction for the mother faded, his eyes lingered on Victoire for a good part of the afternoon.

The three boys and Victoire, all close in age, spent the early afternoon running amok about the Burrows huge grounds. They played a wizard version of hide and seek, following the gnomes to help them discover one another. Later Teddy and Joven allowed Dorado to try out their new brooms and afterward a mini Quidditch game ensued.

Christmas Dinner was another extremely large affair and the lads, famished from their games, ate ravenously of the grand amount of food provided.

'This is really good,' Dorado declared, 'I am so glad I didn't have to go to my relatives. They have the worst food ever.'

Teddy laughed, 'yup, Molly is a great cook and so is Bill; he helped her cook it all.' He looked at Dorado inquiringly, 'so how did you talk your way out of going, Nax?'

'I guess they realized I'd be bored to death. They just said it would be all right.'

Joven smiled, 'well Boots and I have been having a great time, but it will be even more fun with you here. I'm glad they let you come.'

Teddy nodded.

Fun took on a whole new meaning with the inclusion of Dorado. Instead of trying to make the gnomes and frogs chase one another in the pond, the children began chasing them themselves. They all went head under in the pond during their attempts. After that, mad splashing fights ensued followed by a rather long competition at holding one's breath underwater. Victoire won hands down.

It was thus that Harry found them sometime later and called them out to perform drying spells and carry them back to the burrows where the evening was setting in. George had quickly set a roaring outdoor fire before his father had a chance to attempt it Muggle style and they enjoyed chocolate and sweets as the cool evening air swept through the yard of the Burrows.

The stars were shining bright in the sky by the time Molly demanded everyone return to the house and Teddy and his friends moved with Victoire back into the warm kitchen.

The adults and children alike were talking quite a bit and the noise level in the room grew quite loud once more. No one seemed to mind much, Teddy and his friends just talked over the noise level like everyone else.

'So you will be at Hogwarts next year, Tori?' Dorado asked Victoire.

'Yup.'

'Well if you are lucky, you will be in Gryffindor with us.'

'My mum says I will probably be in Ravenclaw because I am brilliant!'

The three lads sniggered.

'You are a blunderbuss,' Teddy retorted sticking out his fore finger and drawing it quickly in a horizontal motion about Victoire's lips.

Victoire pushed her lips out to facilitate his action, as she'd done many times before and it set off another round of giggling among them.

'I don't care what house I am in, but whichever it is, I am going to be the star Quidditch player for the team!' Victoire declared once Teddy had stopped flipping her lips.

'Don't count on it,' Dorado said quickly, 'I plan to get on our house team next year and I am going to rule!'

Victoire crossed her arms about her chest and her lips moved into a profound pout.

Dorado held his tongue between his teeth, staring at her for a moment with mischief in his eyes, 'well, maybe we can both be stars,' he said finally.

Victoire smiled happily at him and nodded.

'You're both nuts,' Teddy broke in, 'the only Quidditch star will be me.'

'I don't have to brag,' Joven piped up, 'you will all be bowing before me soon enough when I bring home the cup for our house.'

Victoire turned and stared at Joven a smile across her lips and Teddy and Dorado laughed.

'Do you have a broom of your own, Dorado?' Victoire asked.

'Call me Nax,' Dorado admonished, it was the first time she had used his name.

Victoire took the request in stride, 'well do you have your own broom, Nax?'

'Yup, the best. Just like the ones Boots and Jojo have.'

Victoire frowned, 'Boots and Jojo?'

'I'm Boots and he's Jojo,' Teddy said pointing to Joven, 'nicknames like yours, Tori.'

'Oh,' Victoire laughed looking at Teddy, 'Boots?'

Teddy smiled, 'Yup, you remember the-'

However, the sound of the fireplace erupting with flames cut off whatever Teddy might have said.

Harry jumped from his seat and ran to stand before the fireplace with Kingsley on his heels. Silence ensued and all heads turned to stare as the head of a middle aged man appeared within the flames of the grate, his expression harassed.

'Minister?' the man inquired.

Kingsley lowered his wand, 'what is it, Custen?

'I am sorry to disturb your Christmas, sir, but your presence is required urgently at the Ministry. We have quite a fracas going on here!'

Kingsley frowned, 'very well, I shall come immediately.' He gave Harry a significant look.

'We'll be back shortly,' Harry turned to say before following Kingsley into the fireplace and flooing to the Ministry.

Chatter among those left in the room ensued immediately as everyone began wondering what was going on.

'Probably another Dark Lord on the march!' Dorado declared.

Teddy rolled his eyes, 'Harry, Kingsley and Arthur are always running off to the Ministry. I doubt that every time they go it is because a new Dark Lord is on the loose,' he said, his tone sarcastic.

'My father says it is only a matter of time before someone decides to take over the wizard world again,' Dorado retorted smugly.

'Why does he think that?' Joven asked.

Dorado smiled cheekily, 'actually he said somebody was going to threaten to do it just as a way to meet Boot's godfather.'

The four children laughed again.

'They can just come over and meet Uncle Harry, they don't have to be a dark lord first,' Victoire rejoined.

'Do people actually come here to meet him?'

'Not here so much,' Teddy responded, 'but they come to his house sometimes.'

'Weirdos,' Dorado spat.

'Yup,' Teddy agreed, 'they come and talk about the war and thank him and stuff. I think he gets annoyed, but he is always nice to them. Sometimes we pretend no one is home.'

'They just come knocking at the door?' Joven asked, his face scrunched up in a look of distaste.

Teddy nodded.

'I don't see why-' Dorado began, but stopped abruptly when the fireplace suddenly erupted into flames once more.

Kingsley tumbled out followed quickly by Narcissa Malfoy and Harry.

Narcissa raced out of the grate, absentmindedly dusting the ash from her dress while her eyes frantically searched the room. Her face was lined with worry and her normally coiffed hair looked as if she had been running nervous fingers through it.

Suddenly Narcissa ran forward toward Dorado, her face breaking into an expression of relief. She grabbed him in a fierce embrace and hugged him tightly once she stood before him.

'It would seem,' Kingsley's voice boomed solemnly behind her, 'that the Malfoys were not aware that their son had come to the Burrows.'

All heads turned to stare at Dorado who was still being smothered against his mother's chest. She finally released him and held him at arm's length by the forearms, 'Dorado Fornax Malfoy! What do you mean leaving the house and coming here?'

Dorado's eyes were wide, 'well,' he said slowly, 'I felt better and I wanted to have Christmas dinner.'

Narcissa frowned and shook him slightly, 'we left you at home because you declared you were too ill to go with us. I find it hard to believe you suddenly felt better right after we left; Harry Potter said you arrived here just after noon!'

'Well I did feel better,' Dorado said, biting his lip.

'I told you Draco was going to come by and check on you. Imagine his horror when he arrived at the house this evening and discovered that you were no where to be found!'

Dorado opened his mouth and then closed it again.

'We've been worried sick! I thought…I thought…' Narcissa's voice ended on a sob and she hugged Dorado once more.

'I'm very sorry Narcissa! I had no idea you didn't realize he was here,' Molly said comfortingly, 'he told us you had given him permission.'

Harry crossed his arms over his chest and stared at the back of Dorado's head, 'he indicated that he had your approval. We certainly would not have allowed him to visit without it.'

'I know,' Narcissa wailed softly, finally looking up, 'I do not blame any of you, Dorado gets up to little pranks now and again…'

'Little pranks?' Harry interrupted forcefully.

Teddy looked at his godfather with wide-eyes. Harry rarely lost his temper, but when he did it was never a very lovely event.

'I told him he could come when we were on the train,' Teddy said softly, hoping his godfather would not level one of his famous explosions at Dorado.

'And you had every right to do so, but he did not have the-' began Harry.

However, Molly cut him off, her eyes boring into the hero's emerald green eyes 'everything is all right now, Narcissa, I am _certain_ it was just a misunderstanding.'

Harry looked mulish, but he remained silent.

'Thank you,' Narcissa said to no one in particular and then turned and pulled her son with her toward the fireplace. She placed floo power into Dorado's hand and ushered him into the grate.

'See ya, Boots, Jojo,' Dorado said before dropping the powder, 'Malfoy Manor!' he cried in the next moment and the flames spun him away.

'Thank you,' Narcissa murmured again before following her son.

Those remaining broke into chatter once more, everyone expressing their shock at Dorado's behavior.

Harry rounded on Teddy the moment she left, 'upstairs, I want a word with you,' he said curtly.

'Harry,' Molly said severely, 'I need to speak with you first; _urgently_.'

Harry wavered a moment, but then sighed, 'all right.'

Teddy stood next to Joven and stared at his godfather's back as he walked to a corner of the room with Molly.

'I can't believe he snuck out of the house and came!' Joven whispered.

Teddy shook his head slowly.

'Your godfather looks livid.'

'He is.'

Indeed it appeared that way to Teddy; Harry was gesticulating quite madly as he spoke to Molly, who didn't look any too pleased. Teddy was unsure what the outcome of the whole thing would be, but he was not to find out.

Suddenly a small tremor rumbled through the Burrows, shaking the house to its seams. The china in the cupboard began to tinkle and the room went silent as house lights began to flicker. With the exception of Teddy and Joven, the children ran toward the adults with frightened little screams and Fleur began speaking loudly in French. Seconds later, a bright flash shot through the room and a loud pop resounded after which the house was encased in darkness.

The sound of people moving about the room was accompanied by more screams from the children and various comments by the adults. Teddy felt someone rush to stand before he and Joven. A strong hand gripped his arm and began tugging him forward.

'Come with me; now!'

It was Harry's voice, but Teddy couldn't see a thing. He allowed his godfather to lead him through the darkened room, colliding with others as they moved. He saw wand lights starting to flash about the room as he was pulled through the kitchen doorway and toward the stairs.

His arm was released and suddenly a wand light was shining before them as well. It was then that Teddy realized Harry had brought Joven with them and that his godfather was still gripping his friend by the arm. Harry led them up the stairs to their bedroom and once they were inside he closed the door behind them.

'What's happening, Harry?' Teddy asked in a small voice.

'Nothing I hope. I am just taking precautions,' Harry answered and moved the boys toward one of the beds. He sat down and patted the mattress with his hand; both lads moved to seat themselves on either side of him.

'You think it might be them? The newspaper men?' Joven asked, his voice trembling a little.

'It doesn't matter if it is, nothing will occur, not while you are here with me,' Harry responded gently.

Teddy saw Harry reach and grip Joven's hand, his wand still supported with the other.

After a small silence, Harry spoke again, 'tell me Teddy, do you know much about Dorado's home life? Is he happy there?'

Teddy had hoped to escape the issue, but the question was not what he'd expected, 'happy? Yes…that is I think so. He argues with his parents some, but he is happy I think.'

'Well it is just his turning up here at Christmas; you would imagine he'd want to spend it with his family.'

'He didn't want to go to his relative's house. I don't think he likes them,' Teddy responded.

'No he doesn't,' Joven put in.

'I see.'

'Nax said he was sick and then got better. He just wanted to have Christmas dinner with us instead of being alone,' Teddy added in a small mournful tone. He knew it wasn't true, but he hoped Harry would believe it.

'Yes, I am aware of that,' Harry replied, 'he didn't mention anything about being ill when he arrived, however. As I recall, he said his parents told him he didn't have to go to his relative's home.'

'Because he was sick,' Teddy reminded hopefully. Harry didn't sound particularly upset, but there was something strange in his godfather's tone.

The three sat in silence for a few moments and then the lights in the house suddenly flash on once again. Within seconds, Kingsley was at the door to the bedroom.

Harry leaped up his body tensed and wand was at the ready, 'ah, it's you,' he said when the Minister's form came into view.

Kingsley smiled wanly, 'it is all right now. A word if you please, Harry.'

Harry got up, smiling reassuringly at the boys as he left the room with Kingsley.

Joven turned to his friend, 'do you think it was them? The newspaper men?'

Teddy shrugged, 'if it was, they are gone now.'

Joven nodded nervously.

'Let's play magical super games; Harry brought my set along,' Teddy offered, hoping to relieve his friend a bit.

'All right,' Joven agreed, his voice still a little nervous.

Soon the two were immersed in a competitive magical broom racing game and it was not long before all thoughts of newsmen, an upset Harry and the delinquent Dorado had fled their minds.

Harry informed Teddy and Joven the next morning that they had indeed had a visit from the newspaper men. The protection Harry had placed on the house had withstood the dark magic the men had tried to use to get inside. Kingsley, Bill and Arthur had given chase, but they hadn't been able to catch the men. However, Harry assured them that the men would not likely try again; his protection spells had caused their dark magic to back fire and he felt they would be out of commission for quite some time.

Harry proved to be correct and the remaining days of the Christmas holidays passed peacefully and quickly. Too soon Teddy and Joven found themselves preparing to leave the Burrows and head back to Hogwarts.

Harry pulled Teddy aside on the morning before they were to leave for Kings Cross to catch the Hogwarts express. 'Come with me a moment,' Harry said softly.

Teddy followed Harry upstairs and they entered his godfather's bedroom. The room was empty and the two sat on the large bed next to one another.

'Teddy,' Harry said gently, 'remember when we spoke at Hogwarts and you told me that sometimes you like to find a place to be alone, but couldn't.'

Teddy looked confused for a moment, but then remembered the small lie he'd told to cover up for Joven, 'y-yes,' he murmured.

'Well I have something that might help.' Harry pulled a cloak from a small bag and handed it to Teddy.

'This cloak has been passed down in my family from father to son for a very long time. It belonged to my father and then…me. Now I want you to use it whenever you like. When you place it over yourself, you will become invisible.

Teddy regarded the cloak with shining eyes.

'You can place it over yourself and go to a quiet place; even if there are others around, they won't be able to see you. That way you won't have to search for an empty classroom. But more than that, you are my godson and well…it is a tradition that I want you to share in.'

Teddy met his godfather's eyes and smiled, 'but you said the cloak was passed from father to son.'

'You are very special to me, Teddy, you know that. I love you as if you were my own son. That is why I want you to be apart of the family tradition.'

Teddy, never one to hold back his emotions with his godfather, suddenly hugged him, 'I love you too, Harry.'

Harry returned his hug, 'James will have it after you, so you must take good care of it so that he will be able to use it and after him our generations to come.'

'I will,' Teddy said sitting back and running his hand over the soft material.

Harry smiled and pulled the cloak from his godson's fingers. He threw it over his form and disappeared before Teddy's eyes.

Teddy gasped, 'brilliant!'

Harry pulled the cloak away, 'it is very special Teddy, but I don't want you to use it to get up to mischief! It is for your private moments.'

Teddy nodded. He had learned long ago that it was the best way to show agreement without really promising anything at all.

Harry's expression evidenced that he knew exactly what that familiar little nod meant. He sighed, 'use it with good judgment Teddy, that is all I ask.'

'I will,' Teddy said happily standing to retrieve the cloak from his godfather.

Harry smiled and shook his head a little as he handed it over, 'we best get going.'

Teddy nodded and followed his godfather downstairs, clutching the cloak tightly in his hands. His mind was full of wonderful uses for the extraordinary cloak by the time they reached the first floor landing. Sadly, he'd already reneged on his word to use the cloak with good judgment at least ten times in his imaginings.


	9. Old Enemies New Friends

**The Amazing Adventures of Teddy Remus Lupin **

Deathly Hallows Spoilers - post battle. The extraordinary adventures of Nymphadora Tonks and Remus Lupin's son and godson of the famous Harry Potter during his seven year journey through the Hogwarts School of Magic. Adventure, Humor and Romance.

Disclaimer: All HP characters, situations and entities belong to JK Rowling.

**A/N**: Thank you all for the notes you left! I have sent answers to everyone individually. Enjoy the new chapter!

**Chapter 9: Old Enemies and New Friends**

Teddy and Joven were escorted to Kings Cross by Harry; all of them huffing and puffing as they raced through the barrier with barely three minutes to spare before the Hogwarts Express departed.

It was Harry's fault they were late; he'd been very clear that he had to personally escort them in order to ensure Joven's safety and he'd been late returning home from the Ministry. He'd had an early morning meeting with a team of Aurors that were planning to round up a band of wizard thieves that had recently began nicking items of worth from local London stores.

Harry all but shoved Teddy and Joven onto the train after giving them each a hug and ensuring their trunks and owls made it in after them. He stood looking like he'd just run a marathon, waving at the boys as he tried to catch his breath.

The train pulled away and a short while later rounded the bend in the road. Harry waved all the while, although he could no longer see whether Teddy and Joven were waving back at him.

'Still looking to be the center of attention I see.'

The voice came from behind and Harry spun around and met the cool grey eyes of Draco Malfoy.

Harry had celebrated his twenty-eighth birthday and yet, looking into the condescending eyes of Draco Malfoy sent the years flying from him faster than a disappearing snitch. Animosity, he discovered, had a cool way of raising its ugly head in the most unexpected manner at times.

Harry noticed that most of those remaining at the station were looking in his direction; he was used to it, but it did help him to keep his head and remind him that he _had_ matured.

Harry smiled wanly, 'we were a bit late,' he responded with forced joviality.

Draco inclined his head, 'happens.'

To Harry's surprise, Draco dropped his eyes and began looking decidedly uncomfortable. That did not bother him particularly, but it did leave him curious.

'It would appear that your younger brother and my godson are friends,' Harry said after a small silence.

Draco met his eyes once more, 'actually, I wanted a word with you about that.'

Harry lifted his brows.

Draco cleared his throat, 'what Dorado – my younger brother – did over the break; lying to my parents and flying off to be with your godson. Well he has never done anything like that before.'

'Um,' Harry murmured.

'The thing is, we were talking it over and we thought that perhaps his actions might be a result of your godson's influence.'

Harry inclined his head, his expression pragmatic, 'Teddy's influence? It wasn't Teddy who left without permission and flooed to Malfoy Manor and he had no idea Dorado was coming. Teddy was as surprised by his arrival as the rest of us. I think-'

'That may be,' Draco interrupted arrogantly, 'however Dorado indicated that Teddy had made the suggestion to him on the train.'

Harry narrowed his eyes, 'Teddy invited him to come to the Burrows with permission. Their other little friend Joven was with us and I suppose he thought it would be nice for them all to spend some of their vacation together. I am positive he did not suggest that Dorado do something so half-cocked as to sneak off and join us.'

Draco crossed his arms over his chest, his expression mulish, 'it stands to reason that something influenced him because as I said, he has never acted that way before.'

'Teddy is an exceptional lad, he always has been. He has never attempted any type of trickery of that kind and I don't believe he had anything to do with your brother's decision.'

'From what I've heard,' Draco continued as if Harry hadn't spoken, 'they've gotten into quite a bit of trouble at Hogwarts already; several detentions and up to all types of mischief…'

'Really? I haven't been advised of anything extraordinary. I am certain that Headmistress McGon-'

'You know as well as I do that McGonagall doesn't send notes around for every infraction,' Draco cut in.

'And you know what's happening at the school because…?'

'Because I have contacts at Hogwarts who have informed me.'

Harry sighed angrily; he crossed his arms over his chest and matched Draco's stance, 'I should have realized…like father like son.'

The heated words had come without volition and Harry wished them back immediately. It had been a rude comment, without proof or merit and springing from an old grudge from too long ago.

Draco had taken it poorly; the color in his face heightened and his eyes were two grey slits, 'still the all knowing Potter; well no, my family has very little contact with the school administration or the Ministry these days. It was in fact my very good friend, Blaise Zabini, who informed me. He has a position there now, so you see, your comment was quite unfounded.'

Harry looked chastened, 'I apologize, that was unwarranted.'

Draco looked as if he hadn't expected such a response from his old rival. His demeanor calmed even as a bit of confusion entered his eyes.

'What exactly did Blaise tell you?'

Draco blinked a few times, 'they are getting up to a bit of mischief up there and I suspect Teddy Lupin is the ringleader.'

'Blaise said that?'

Draco stared a moment, 'he merely indicated they were all involved, but I know-'

'That sounds more like the truth of the matter,' Harry interrupted, 'your mother indicated that Dorado was quite the little prankster. I rather think that they have formed a little gang of mischief, not unlike Fred and George in our day.'

'Perhaps, however this last bit of mischief over the holidays was taking things a little too far in my opinion.'

'In mine as well,' concurred Harry.

Draco sighed, 'forbidding them to be friends will only make them more willful, so we haven't done that.'

Harry nodded, his eyes narrowed.

'However, if you would have a word with Teddy…we've already spoken with Dorado.'

'Of course,' Harry said evenly, 'however, I do believe that Dorado left Malfoy Manor of his own volition.'

Draco shrugged, 'right, well perhaps they are in it together – thick as thieves, that sort of thing. Dorado gets up to pranks, but nothing as extraordinary as what happened – at least not until meeting your godson. If you'll just-'

'I will speak to him,' Harry cut in curtly.

Draco gave a tight smile and inclined his head, 'fine. Thank you.'

'Not at all,' Harry said as Draco turned to leave. If there was anyone doing any bad influencing, he thought, it was the Malfoy boy and he was certain of it. He had no intention of chastising Teddy for Dorado's act of willfulness. Teddy might be a bit mischievous, but his godson knew where to draw the line!

'Teddy! Come back inside!' Dorado cried frantically, looking at the empty air before him.

Laughter rang out from the place where Teddy should have been standing, but there was just empty space. Teddy had whipped out his new invisibility cloak minutes before and had decided to 'try it out' – literally. He was hanging from the caboose of the train, standing on the edge of a small platform and tightly gripping the railing with both hands.

'Teddy this isn't funny!' Joven declared, 'you could fall off! You could be killed! Come back inside!' He stood next to Dorado before the door they had wrested open that gave way to the platform on which Teddy was teetering as the train flew along the tracks.

'It's brilliant!' Teddy declared, his voice barely audible in the wind.

The wind was whipping his cloak backward, revealing the bottom of his jeans and his boots. He had attached four of the sticking charms they'd gotten from George to his hands and boots, however, from the vantage point of his friends, the charms didn't seem to be providing much in the way of security.

'What in the name of Merlin is going on here?' a voice boomed behind Dorado and Joven.

The two boys whipped around and stared at the intimidating form of Professor Slughorn.

'We were-' Dorado began, a smooth lie about to fly from his lips. However he stopped speaking when Slughorn moved around him and slammed the door shut without looking outside.

'Do you realize how dangerous it is to open the door of a train while it is moving?' Slughorn said angrily.

'Y-yes sir,' Joven said in a small shaky voice.

Dorado's eyes grew calculating, but before he could speak Slughorn continued.

'One hundred points will be deducted from Gryffindor and you will both see me directly after the feast this evening to work out the terms of your detention! Go back to your compartments, both of you, now!' he ordered sternly.

'But sir-' Joven began.

'NOW!' Slughorn cried furiously.

Dorado looked as if he was going to do so, but Joven didn't move.

'Sir,' Joven said in a rush of words, 'B-Boots, that is Teddy is outside!'

Slughorn's face turned purple so quickly, he looked as if he might collapse on the spot, 'WHAT?'

'H-he's outside on the rail,' Joven said timidly.

Dorado was looking daggers at Joven, but Slughorn didn't appear to notice, he turned and whipped the door open again and looked outside. Air met his eyes and he began to turn back toward Joven in fury. when he suddenly did a double take at the air outside once more.

'What in Merlin's-' cutting himself off he stormed onto the outside platform and using both hands he gripped at the "air". His arms seemed to fill with a bundle of nothing which he pulled over the railing and back inside the train.

Teddy slowly pulled the cloak from his form and wadded it into a tight ball in his hands.

Slughorn slammed the door shut and stood staring at him, huffing down at him as if he might have an apoplexy any moment.

Teddy bit his lip and risked looking up at the professor. Slughorn appeared to be undergoing some type of internal struggle; his eyes moved through several emotions, his mouth was working and he repeatedly fisted his hands.

'HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?' he screamed finally.

Teddy opened and closed his mouth, his hair turning a darker shade of chestnut.

'YOU COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED!'

Slughorn closed his eyes and appeared to be trying to get a hold of himself, 'BACK TO YOUR COMPARTMENTS! ALL OF YOU NOW!' he yelled finally, signaling pointing toward the compartments with his forefinger, 'and I'll see you in my office tonight following the feast!' he finished loudly.

Teddy and his friends raced away toward their compartment, passing a number of curious students who had come into the hall to see what the fracas was about. The trio reached their compartment and whipped the door open, moving inside and pulling the door closed behind them before falling onto the benches. They had the compartment to themselves as a portion of the student body had remained at Hogwarts for the holidays. They stared at one another in silence for a moment before Dorado finally spoke.

"I cannot believe you ratted Teddy out, Jojo!' he hissed, his eyes narrowed and his brow furrowed.

Teddy looked at his younger friend and saw Joven squirm on the bench across from them.

'Boots could have died,' he returned in a small voice, looking chastened.

'Boots was not going to die. He'd survived up to that point just fine. We could have rescued him once that fat bellied professor went on his way and he'd of never known that Boots was outside! Now we are going to get one heck of a detention.'

A small amount of spark entered Joven's eyes, 'I told you guys we shouldn't do it!' he declared, his tone stronger now.

'Well we did and that is no excuse for ratting Boots out, you don't do that to a friend.'

'I didn't rat him out! I just didn't want anything to happen to him.'

'You ratted him out and I am not sure whether or not you are a friend at all,' Dorado said angrily.

'Nax,' Teddy interjected, 'forget it, it doesn't matter now; we're already busted.'

'Yeah well we wouldn't be if it wasn't for Jojo who claimed to be our friend…some friend.' Dorado sat back against the bench and stared out of the window in stony silence.

'Don't be a total berk, Nax,' Teddy said looking at the back of his friend's head. Joven he noticed was looking at Dorado as well, his eyes large and filled with something very akin to pain. 'Jojo thought I'd fall off, that's all. Of course he is our friend, he's our best friend.'

'Friends don't rat one another out,' Dorado demanded of the window.

'Friends don't make their mates feel like a pile of dung for making a mistake either,' Teddy rebutted.

Dorado threw up a hand dismissively, 'you two go ahead and be best mates then; I want nothing to do with anyone who will snitch at the first sign of trouble.'

'Nax you are being a berk,' Teddy declared.

Dorado didn't respond, but instead hunched into the bench and continued to stare out of the window.

'Sorry, Boots,' Joven said quietly, 'I shouldn't have said anything; I was just scared you would fall and we couldn't see you when he closed the door.'

'Forget about it, Jojo, it doesn't matter now.'

'Well I'm sorry anyway,' Joven repeated sullenly.

'You should be,' mumbled Dorado half under his breath.

Teddy sighed and pressed his back into the bench, crossing his arms over his chest, 'so now what? Are we all going to have a horrible time of it on the train because you two feel like wallowing in misery?'

Dorado turned his head to give Teddy a sideways glance that exhibited the little regard he held for his friend's words at the moment.

'It isn't like you don't make mistakes yourself, you know,' Teddy said a little hotly then, 'popping over to the Burrows on Christmas day without permission was pretty stupid, Nax.'

Dorado's head whipped around to face his friend, 'yeah well you can spend the whole day being tweaked and patted by my relatives in my place next time and if I had realized what a total berk you are, I would have never come!'

'I'm the berk?' Teddy responded incredulously.

'You are both a couple of useless berks!' Dorado declared, 'I maybe shouldn't have come for Christmas, but only a berk would tell me so, not someone who is supposed to be my best mate.'

'You have a lot of rules about what mates are supposed to do and not do,' Teddy rejoined angrily.

'THEY AREN'T RULES,' Dorado yelled, his angry face moving closer to Teddy as he spoke 'ANY TRUE MATE JUST AUTOMATICALLY KNOWS HOW TO ACT!'

'Yeah well maybe YOU should start doing it!' Teddy responded hotly, his own head further closing the space between his and Dorado's.

Joven stood up suddenly, cutting them both off mid-stride as he rapidly walked to the compartment door. He forcefully pulled it open and stormed out, slamming it soundly behind him.

Both Dorado and Teddy stared at the door in silence for a moment, breathing rather heavily.

'Now see what you've gone and done,' both Teddy and Dorado said simultaneously; uncannily in almost the same tone and cadence.

Teddy's face zipped around and their eyes met with a similar sparkle. Seconds later the two broke out in rather unstoppable laughter, long and uninhibited; a mixture of relief and forgiveness in each chuckle that fell from their lips.

'Let's go get Jojo,' Dorado said in a resigned tone when their laughter finally waned.

Teddy nodded and stood up, leading the way as they covertly moved through the train in search of their friend.

After the welcome back feast that evening, Teddy, Joven and Dorado went to Slughorn's office as they had been bid. They were somewhat depressed to see that he had called Headmistress McGonagall to join the meeting as well. It shouldn't have come as a huge surprise; she had retained her position as head of Gryffindor house.

However the Headmistress didn't say a word; she merely sat and listened with a stern expression as Slughorn gave them a severe set down and issued three days detention for their deed. Three nights of cleaning potions bottles was not so awful a punishment in light of the fact that Joven had nearly convinced them that they would all be expelled for what they'd done.

The lads left the office as soon as they were dismissed and headed for Gryffindor. As they rounded the corner of the hallway leading from Slughorn's office to the stairway, Dorado suddenly held his arms akimbo and pressed his friends backward.

Teddy had seen Blaise Zabini and Professor Passat standing in the hallway talking before he was pressed backward. The two men hadn't seemed to notice them.

'What?' Teddy whispered.

'Let's listen, they may be talking about the attic…or the forest,' Dorado said in a quiet rush of words.

The three peeped around the corner; the two men stood some distance from them and Professor Passat was speaking.

'It opens in three weeks time; Minerva is going to make an announcement at breakfast soon.'

'Ah, so she's taken up residence then. Here in the castle?'

'Yes, she has rooms…quite close to yours as a matter of fact.'

Teddy noticed Passat's tone had become slightly molested.

Zabini laughed, 'don't worry; I have no designs on the lovely Miss Frederick.'

Passat looked slightly uncomfortable, 'I – I didn't mean to imply, that is-'

Zabini's laughter rang out again, 'no need to explain, mate. I know you have the hots for her.'

'I don't have the hots for her,' Passat retorted, 'I merely spoke with her briefly and she explained that she had rooms in the same corridor where you are staying.'

'Uh huh,' Zabini answered teasingly, a smile still creasing his features, 'and you are flushing because…?'

Teddy saw Professor shifting his feet; he looked more uncomfortable by the minute.

'I didn't realize I was flushed,' Passat responded softly, although the natural acoustics of the hallway easily carried the words to the boys' ears.

'Well you are and it's a dead giveaway. But not to worry, I have my own little bundle of beauty back in London.'

'Do you?'

'Name's Lavender; a real beauty!'

'Lavender…that's unique.'

'Quite; so is she. Rather plain for my tastes when she was younger, but I saw her again a few months ago and well, it was as if she'd been charmed into a raving beauty.'

'I see you were attracted by her values and morals,' Passat replied in a slightly mocking tone.

Zabini laughed again, 'well I didn't say I was going to marry her, did I? But she's quite a looker.'

'And you are quite the romantic.'

Zabini shrugged, 'she told me straight out that she was only dating me because she found me attractive.'

'A couple made in heaven.'

More chuckling from the Slytherin, 'well can I help it if she has good taste?'

Passat joined his laughter, 'nothing conceited about you.'

The two were quiet for a moment before Passat spoke again.

'If I had your looks I wouldn't have any problems,' he said a bit sullenly.

'What?' Zabini cried, 'you are a very good looking bloke, Lycaeus, you are just too modest.'

Passat's tone was curt, 'thanks for trying to bolster my ego, but you could model for Witches Weekly, Blaise, while I-'

'You what?' Zabini interrupted, 'I don't know the last time you looked in a mirror mate, but I am certain you have a few of the older ones about this place swooning over their cereal. And I'll tell you something else; I saw Anelia Frederick glancing your way several times during that staff meeting yesterday.'

Passat looked at Zabini with skepticism, 'I doubt that very much.'

'Well don't. I noticed the both of you sneaking glances at one another; it was quite amusing.'

Teddy noticed Passat was once again looking uncomfortable. It appeared as though he liked some girl named Anelia Frederick; he wondered who she might be. He agreed with Blaise Zabini. He thought Professor Passat was a smashing looking bloke and wondered why the professor doubted it. His long pony tail was cool and he was tall and had a nice face; always smiling kindly at them.

'Well I better head back to Hogsmeade; I've a bit of work to prepare before classes tomorrow,' Passat said finally.

'All right, if I see Anelia on my way to bed, I'll put in a good word for you.'

Passat looked at his friend pragmatically, 'no words would be better.'

Both men laughed as they turned and moved down the staircase together.

'Passat is in love,' Dorado mused as the two men moved out of sight.

'So it would seem,' Teddy responded.

'That is pretty gross,' Joven added.

Dorado laughed, 'I dunno, he's pretty old, probably my brother's age; he has to find a wife and have kids and stuff.'

'True,' Joven conceded, 'I wonder who she is.'

The three boys began walking toward the staircase, taking them upward in the opposite direction the professors had followed.

'Maybe if we help Passat get together with this Anliza Fredericks, or whatever her name was, he'll be so happy, he'll tell us what is in the attic and give us a bit of info about what's going on in the forest,' Dorado suggested.

'How are we going to do that? We don't even know who she is,' Teddy rolled his eyes.

'We can find out; she's staying in the castle, isn't she?' Dorado responded readily.

'Well sure, but even if we do figure out who she is,' put in Joven, 'I don't see what we can do about it all.'

Dorado rubbed his hands together, 'not to worry, I have experience. I got my brother and his wife together and got seven new magical games for my trouble.'

'You did?' Joven asked, his tone impressed.

'Yup, and I was only six at the time.' Dorado frowned then, 'biggest mistake I ever made. She turned out to be a real idiot.'

His friends laughed.

It had only been two days since Harry had seen Teddy and Joven off on the Hogwarts Express when he found himself portkeying into the Headmistress's office. He'd arranged for extra security about the castle on behalf of Joven and he had come to check the various wards and spells for himself.

After a short and rather informative meeting with McGonagall, he set out about the castle to check on the security. It was lunch time when he finished and he moved to the main hall and stood near the doorway, watching the students moving toward the Great Hall. Not all of the student's ate at the same time, but he hoped Teddy would be along shortly.

It wasn't long before he was rewarded by the sight of his godson, surrounded by his friends and laughing as he moved toward the Great Hall for lunch. Harry stepped from the shadows an approached the trio.

'Teddy?'

Teddy whipped around at the sound of the familiar voice and ran forward, gripping his godfather in a hug.

'Harry!' Teddy said brightly.

Harry hugged him back and then lifted his head, 'hello Joven and Dorado, how are you two?'

'Hello, Harry,' Joven said gaily.

'Hi,' Dorado added.

'You two don't mind if I borrow Teddy for a little bit?'

The two lads shook their heads and Harry grasped Teddy's hand and led him through the front door of the castle into the gardens. The two walked to one of the benches on the far side of the garden where they could be alone and sat down next to one another.

The weather was cool, and Harry noticed that his godson didn't have his jacket. 'Are you cold?'

Teddy shook his head smiling as he placed his school bag on the bench beside him.

'Teddy,' Harry said, his tone suddenly serious, 'I spoke to your Headmistress a short while ago and she informed me of what happened on the train.'

Harry noticed Teddy drop his eyes and his cheeks infuse with color – as did his hair, moving from its highlighted chestnut coloring to a smooth shade of orange.

'I was appalled at your behavior Teddy. Do you realize how dangerous that was?'

Teddy kept his head inclined downward.

'Why would you do something like that Teddy? Why would you place your life at risk?'

Teddy didn't respond and his hair began returning to its natural coloring.

Harry felt a wave of irritation move through him at the sight; Teddy often did not respond when he was receiving a set down. It was a habit he'd developed to avoid admitting that he was in the wrong when he planned to repeat certain behavior – while at the same time making it appear that he was repentant. However, Teddy had crossed the line this time with his mischief and Harry had every intention of ensuring he recognized it. His conversation with Draco at the train station floated through his mind and ire began working its way through his chest.

'Well whether you realize it or not you could have been killed!' Harry said, his tone heated.'

When Harry's words received no response his rage increased, as did the level of his voice, 'you know your parents both died during the war Teddy to make this world a better place so that you could be happy. If they hadn't, the Ministry would have never improved and you would likely be receiving the same treatment from society that your father had to deal with, just for being his son! And how do you repay them? By hanging off of the back of a train and trying to kill yourself!' Harry was all but yelling by the end of his speech.

Teddy's head jerked upward, his eyes wide and bright. Harry noticed that they held an expression quite unlike anything he'd ever seen before. Harry couldn't put his finger on what it signified, but he began to feel as if his message might be getting across. His heart was still beating quite rapidly; however, his anger at his godson's actions had not lessened.

Teddy lowered his head once again, 'I'm sorry,' he mumbled.

Harry reached under Teddy's chin and lifted his head. His mind flew back in time as he stared into his godson's eyes…so like his fathers. It suddenly dawned on him that Remus had had an almost identical conversation with him in his youth about taking risks in light of his parent's sacrifice and he distinctly recalled how bad it had left him feeling. Still there were times when it was necessary to be the stern godfather.

'You have to think before you act, I don't want to hear of anything like this occurring again, Teddy.'

'You won't,' Teddy said brokenly as tears began forming in his eyes.

Harry released Teddy's chin, 'you also used the cloak in a way that was against my expressed wishes Teddy. You knew the importance of it in the tradition of my family and I expressly told you to use good judgment when wearing it. The first thing you did was risk both your life and the cloak.' The words had come out harshly; the thought of anything happening to Teddy made Harry's stomach roar with sickness.

Harry could see tears falling liberally from his godson's eyes and onto his robes and he felt some of his ire wash away at the sight. It appeared as though he'd gotten his message across.

'I apparently was mistaken in thinking you were mature enough to handle the cloak,' Harry continued, 'I am going to take it home with me today. Is it in your room?'

Teddy nodded, a jerky movement of the head.

Harry stood up and pointed his wand at the castle and shortly the cloak made its way through a window in the tower and into Harry's hands.

Teddy's shoulders began to shake in the interim and Harry noticed his sobbing was becoming somewhat uncontrollable. He began to wonder if he'd over done it; Teddy had never responded in quite this manner before. He began to regret having brought up Teddy's parents – perhaps it hadn't been the right thing to do after all.

A wave of compassion moved through Harry as he continued to stare at the down turned head of his godson.

Harry sat down again and placed the cloak on the bench, sighing a little. 'Teddy, you know your parents are watching over you and they love you very much. They are very proud of you and I know they understand that you will get up to mischief. But they wouldn't be happy to see you taking risks like you did on the train and they wouldn't want you to do anything like that again. You understand that don't you?'

'Y-yes. I – I'm s-so s-sorry, Harry. The c-cloak was important t-to me too.'

Teddy seemed more distraught than Harry ever recalled seeing him; he had thought his last words would bring his godson a little solace, but they seemed to have had the opposite affect. All of the anger flew out of him and he reached and pulled the lad into a hug.

Harry started a little as he felt Teddy's arms grip him almost frantically, as if he were holding on for dear life and in that moment a realization came over him. Teddy knew his parents would forgive him; he understood that they still loved him – it was _him_ Teddy was worried about. It was _him_ who had not spoken to Teddy in this manner in a very long time.

'Teddy,' Harry said gently, his lips brushing against the strands of hair flying about the top of Teddy's head, 'you know I too understand and still think the world of you despite what you did. I've told you many times that you are like a son to me and it worries me to death that you would do something like this. I only said the things I did and took the cloak back because I love you very much and if anything were to happen to you, I don't know what I would do.'

Teddy gripped him a little tighter.

'We'll try the cloak out again next year when you are a little older and able to handle it. I still want you to be a part of the family tradition…our family tradition, Teddy.'

Harry noticed that Teddy's sobs had begun to cease. When Teddy was young, he had always sought reassurances of his continued regard after a set down. It had been so long ago, Harry had forgotten and Teddy had grown to exhibit a tremendous amount of backbone. Apparently the harsh set down had brought Teddy's old insecurity out to play once again.

'I'm sorry, Harry,' Teddy repeated, 'I'll never do anything like that again.'

'I know you won't,' Harry assured him, glad that Teddy's tone sounded surer.

Teddy finally loosened his hold and sat back a little, a wane smile flittering across his lips.

'Are you hungry, my wild, little monster?'

Harry was happy to see the familiar words of endearment coax Teddy's grin into a full blown smile and his eyes to sparking again as he nodded gingerly in response.

Harry ruffled his wayward locks and smiled lovingly, 'let's go get something to eat.'

Teddy nodded again and stood, pulling his book bag onto his shoulder.

Harry tucked the cloak into the pocket of his robe and placed an arm over Teddy's shoulder leading him back toward the castle. His godson was an intelligent lad, he thought, and a quick learner; he could likely return the cloak now, but by next year he was certain that Teddy would be more judicious in his use of it.

'You could use the cloak and nick some food from the staff room if you want, Harry. I heard they have lots of treats in there,' Teddy said jovially as they moved through the castle door.

Harry shook his head and smiled wanly; yes, next year would certainly be a better time to deliver the cloak to his godson.

Within two weeks of returning for the new term, Joven had turned their prank goods business into a smashing success. The three boys had made an incredible amount of money in excess of the cost of the goods from George's shop. Joven kept it stashed in his truck on which he had placed numerous protection spells he'd found in the library. It was doubtful that Gringotts was any better protected than their wealth.

Teddy continued his conjuring lessons with McGonagall during that time and during his last lesson he'd shocked himself by causing the sparks to gather in a cohesive bond that flamed in his hand like fire. His friends were thrilled with the flames that he could now conjure and constantly asked to see them, making practice sessions almost unnecessary.

What had excited Teddy the most, however, was that McGonagall had told him that the flames were actually the more difficult part of conjuring – something generally taught after basic summoning maneuvers. Teddy was surprised by the news and glad that the rest might come easier. McGonagall had then set him upon a course of practicing the _Accio _spell which he had just learned in class. Only he was to practice it without his wand. Despite her assurances that it was easier than the flame, Teddy found he had little success at summoning without his wand.

It was during one such practice session outdoors with his friends that Teddy found himself in the midst of another family reunion.

Dorado and Joven were encouraging Teddy in his practice when suddenly they all stopped and titled their heads to regard the sky overhead. They were not the only ones; everyone who was outside was doing the same thing. What looked to be twenty to thirty wizards were flying in a figure eight formation, swirling around as they approached the front gates of Hogwarts.

After looking for a few moments, Teddy groaned, 'oh no,' he said.

'What is it?' Joven asked.

'My Gran,' Teddy said, his face and hair turning bright orange.

What turned out to be twenty-six witches dressed in hitched up robes and tall black boots landed just outside of the gates. Within seconds, the boys saw their Headmistress approaching the gates and opening them for the women.

'It is her Witches Venturing group…they travel all around the world. I just never thought they would travel here,' Teddy mumbled.

Indeed, the group made up of women in their sixties and seventies who were widowed, divorced or without mates, had formed a group. Many of them, it turned out, had grandchildren at Hogwarts and they had decided to pay a visit on their way to an exotic vacation spot.

Dorado and Joven were laughing at Teddy's reaction as well as at the oddly dressed grandmothers as Teddy moved forward toward his Gran. The women were moving inside the gates and some of Teddy's embarrassment faded when he saw other students moving toward the grandmothers as well.

However, upon nearing his Gran, all of Teddy's reservations fled and he ran pell-mell into her arms.

'Gran!' he declared wildly, realizing how much he missed her. He hadn't seen her since the start of the year.

'Teddy Remus!' she declared, dropping her broom and swooping him into a hug.

'I missed you!' Teddy said gleefully, his voice muffled in her rather thick coat.

'I missed you too, mite,' Andromeda said gently, pressing Teddy back and holding him at arms length so she could regard him from head to toe, 'is Hogwarts treating you well?'

'I'm great Gran! And I love Hogwarts.'

'Well good. I spoke with Harry and he tells me you have been up to some smashing pranks.'

Teddy bit his lip.

Andromeda laughed, 'not to worry lad, you could never best your mum in that regard, she was a complete loose canon while she was here; always getting into scrape after scrape.'

Teddy smiled brightly, 'I'm doing great in my classes!'

Andromeda chuckled, 'turning the topic I see, but I already know that; Harry informed me all about your high marks and your conjuring!'

Teddy nodded excitedly and then stepped backward and held out his hand to send a large flame roaring from it.

'Oh my!' Andromeda said, her tone swathed in amazement, 'just like your father!'

Teddy nodded, still smiling as he doused the flame with his mind.

'Well I am very proud of you Teddy and I brought you something.' Andromeda reached into the pocket of her coat and pulled out a huge bag and handed it to Teddy.

Teddy opened the bag and peered inside, 'sweets!' he declared happily, 'thank you Gran!' Teddy ran forward and hugged Andromeda once more. 'And thank you for my Christmas presents too – I have the picture from my parents on my bedside table.'

Andromeda smiled lovingly, her eyes a bit reflective, 'took it myself. The three of you were so lovely.'

Teddy smiled up at her, 'and I brought the under shorts and socks along too.'

Andromeda pinched his nose and laughed, 'I am sure you did. You may not have appreciated them as much as the picture or the broom Harry bought for you, but you will one day realize the importance of having a surplus of underclothing on hand!'

Teddy didn't respond to that; his Gran was always speaking of shortages and surpluses, and he never really understood what she was going on about.

'ALL READY?' declared a loud voice behind them.

'That's the signal for us to leave! We are headed for Tahiti, a wonderful little island. I will be back when the term ends, Teddy, and we'll see one another then.'

'But you just arrived!'

'Well we were not supposed to stop at all, but your Headmistress sent word that we could come at this time and so we worked it into our schedule. Many of us have grandchildren here and we wanted to drop in and see you! However, we are on a tight time table.'

'All right,' Teddy said a bit somberly, 'thanks for coming, Gran.' He hugged her tightly.

Andromeda returned his hug and then collected her broom and joined the other women in a small group. Moments later they were all heading back into the sky.

Teddy's friends came to stand beside him once more.

'So that's your Gran, eh?' Dorado remarked staring up at the oddly dressed witches as they zigzagged along the sky.

'Yup,' Teddy replied.

'She seemed nice,' Joven remarked.

'The whole lot of them seemed to be a bit nutters,' Dorado mused.

Teddy laughed, 'they are I think. Gran joined up about three years ago and, well, to be honest, they are all a little odd sometimes. She'd have meetings at home at times and they would all come over; they sat around eating and talking so loud I could barely hear my super magical games.'

Dorado chuckled, 'it's kind of cool in a way though; my grandpa Malfoy just sits around all day complaining; at least your Gran gets out and does things. They all seemed young still.'

The witches were barely visible as they made their way through the sky and most of the remaining students stood looking up at them.

No one had seen the stray grandmother witch who'd come running from the school, broom in hand. She raced through the group, grey hair flowing loosely behind her and everyone turned to stare.

'They've left without me!' she declared in an odd sounding voice.

Suddenly she raced forward to where Teddy and his friends stood and before anyone could react, she grabbed Joven about the torso and slipped her broom beneath her with the other hand. A second later she took off into the sky, a screaming Joven tightly bound in her arm.

'JOJO!' Dorado cried, leaping forward and grasping the air with both hands as his friend flew upward just out of his reach.

'No!' Teddy shouted at the same time also running forward, but too late to do more than watch as Joven struggled in the tight arm that bound him.

Headmistress McGonagall, who had been on the point of returning inside quickly raced back onto the grass as the witch was ascending with Joven. She lifted her wand and issued a silent spell, but it didn't seem to have any effect; the witch continued to fly away with their friend toward the entrance gate.


End file.
